The CAO also mentioned some good news regarding fire hydrant repairs: it appears the hydrants may not need repair, just some basic maintenance. Macdonald stated she was told the hydrants may only require some gaskets and O-rings and won’t require digging up the pavement.
After looking at the proposed operating budget Coun. Clark German complimented the CAO.
“I think you did an excellent job Elaine,” said German.
He also asked the CAO if she’d had a chance to look into the amount of water Big Valley actually purchased, but Macdonald answered she wasn’t able to do that yet.
German noted he felt the village
Canadian Agricultural Safety Association celebrates annual Agricultural Safety Week
Farmers and ranchers are encouraged to prioritize
Canadian Agricultural Safety Week takes place March 16-22 and this year farmers, farm families, farm workers, and farming communities are encouraged to prioritize #FarmSafetyEveryday.
Councillors discussed the municipal assessor, with Macdonald stating she was very happy with Big Valley’s assessor. The CAO stated the village’s assessor knows the job very well and meets all the requirements of the Municipal Government Act (MGA).
Mayor Dan Houle responded that in his opinion assessments in Big Valley may be a bit too low.
Canadian Agricultural Safety Week (CASW) is an annual national initiative delivered by the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA) that raises awareness about the importance of safe agriculture and showcases how safety directly contributes to the success and sustainability of farming operations.
German added that it does seem that Big Valley has a lot of properties assessed at the minimum value, with the CAO pointing out there are 37 in total.
Councillors unanimously approved the 2023 operating budget.
This year, CASW will feature daily themes to address essential agricultural health and safety topics affecting those who live and work on Canadian farms.
The daily themes will cover health hazards on the farm, emergency preparedness, grain safety, mental health, road and rail safety, and women in agriculture.
“Every year, far too many lives are lost or irreparably changed due to preventable farming accidents,” says Sandy Miller, CASA’s Executive Director.
“That’s why CASA is committed to providing Canadian producers with the information and resources they need to protect the well-being of everyone on their farms and ranches. Safer farms benefit everyone and Canadian Agricultural Safety Week is a reminder for all of us to do our part to prioritize farm safety every day.”
CASA highlights the importance of safety on Canadian farms and encourages conversations about farm health
and safety annually through CASW, which takes place during the third week of March. CASW’s sponsors for 2025 are CN, the Canadian Canola Growers Association, and Syngenta Canada.
The Canadian Agricultural Safety Association is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to improving the health and safety of farmers, their
families and agricultural workers. CASA is funded in part by the Government of Canada under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a federal, provincial and territorial initiative. For more information, visit www.casa-acsa.ca, find us on Facebook or LinkedIn, or follow us on X @ planfarmsafety.
Open 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday
, Visit our page to see our specials 403-972-3848
Oyen United Church welcomes Reverend Rhoad
BY DIANA WALKER (with excerpts from Dave Bruha’s interview)
The usual group of coffee drinkers gathered at the Oyen United Church Tuesday morning, February 25 joined by two newcomers, Rev. Johnny Rhoad and his wife TaiLi. Rev. Rhoad brought his coffee cup. Printed on it — God, not another meeting.
As I too, was there to enjoy a cup of coffee it presented the opportunity to interview Rev. Johnny. He shared much of this information with Dave Bruha, editor of The Consort Enterprise, printed on that paper’s front page earlier in the month.
Rhoad has officially taken on a shared ministry position, serving Oyen, Consort, Cereal and Alsask. For the past three years, he has been the chaplain at Drumheller Institution. He commuted from Drumheller on the weekends to serve the local church communities while working at Drumheller on the weekdays. He has let go of his prison commitment. He and TaiLi now live in the Oyen United Church manse.
Rev. Rhoad says he and TaiLi enjoy rural living and the Oyen community. They are looking forward to meeting more people in the area, and the coming of spring.
“I just hope I have the energy to cover four ministries,” he chuckled, saying he has a schedule worked out.
Johnny and TaiLi have little spare time for hobbies. Johnny does enjoy wheeling his wife along Main Street and taking her to the library.
“I like playing the piano, organ and guitar for worship services,” says TaiLi. “I like singing. I like painting. My preferred medium is acrylics though I also like to paint with paints based on water. I love reading. It’s been hard to do a lot of hobbies since I broke my hip. I love watching several TV programs. One of my favourites is Hudson & Rex. I enjoy doing Bible studies. I Zoom with a church in Edmonton and one in the Netherlands. I still have contact with my sorority “Femmetastique” in the Netherlands. We started in 1986. Before I broke my hip I was trying to teach myself Chinese (Mandarin) with Rosetta Stone speaking, reading and writing.”
“We have the canoe and motorcycles but have not used them much of late,” said Johnny. “We always enjoy having our sons visit from Edmonton and camping in the summer.”
Rev. Rhoad will conduct eight monthly services in Alsask—excluding January, February, July and August—held on the fourth Sunday, afternoon or evening, yet to be determined.
Cereal will have 10 monthly services—excluding July and August—on the second Sunday at 9:30 a.m.
Rev. Johnny Rhoad and his wife TaiLi
B.C., where he played football. He earned a science degree at Simon Fraser University, where football with the SFU Clansmen continued to be part of his passion.
After graduation from Simon Fraser, Rhoad took a student ministry placement in Kelowna for one summer before going to McGill University in Montreal where he also played football with the McGill Redmen and went into military chaplaincy, continuing his studies and working for five years with the Canadian Armed Forces. From McGill, he returned to Vancouver and obtained a Master of Divinity degree at Regent College.
Of his 35 years in ministry, he spent almost 20 years in the United States in various posts and furthering his education. He has lived in Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, as well as Michigan, Indiana, South Dakota and North Dakota.
Johnny and TaiLi, a very talented musician, have three sons: Ram, Romulus and Cyrus all in their twenties born in the U.S. during their time there. The eldest, Ram, has graduated with a B.Sc. at the University of Alberta and is in graduate school. Their other two sons are also in Edmonton attending undergraduate studies at the University of Alberta.
He will be in Consort on Mondays and Thursdays. Those attending Knox United Consort gather for worship at 11 a.m. on the first and third Sundays.
“It is always important to find opportunities for the church to be relevant to the community,” Rev. Rhoad added. He is encouraging people to reach out.
BCAS Upcoming Events: March 17/18 - Bronc Clinic
Big Country Agricultural Society
For bookings: 403-664-9872 or 403-664-6600 thebcasoffice@gmail.com
March 25/26 - Marci Powell Barrel Clinic
Potable Water For Sale at the coin-op truck fill.
March 31 - Friday FUNdamentals
April 2 - Winter Gymkhana Finals
BCAS Upcoming Events: March 17/18 - Bronc Clinic
March 25/26 - Marci Powell Barrel Clinic
April 8 - Barrels/Roughstock
Oyen United Church will have services every Sunday. He will preside on the second and fourth Sundays with lay-support leading the worship on the other Sundays.
Rhoad can be reached at the Oyen church at 403664-3987 (Home: 403-664-3081) and the Knox United in Consort at 403-577-3769 (where an answering machine will take a message).
Rev. Rhoad concluded with this announcement:
July 14 & 15 - Oyen Indoor LRA Rodeo
March 31 - Friday FUNdamentals
August 19 - Open Farm Days
April 2 - Winter Gymkhana Finals
April 8 - Barrels/Roughstock
July 14 & 15 - Oyen Indoor LRA Rodeo
“I’m excited to be involved with all the communities and look forward to meeting more people and serving in this shared community between four churches,” says Rev. Rhoad.
For bookings: 403-664-6600 or 403-664-9872 thebcasoffice@gmail.com
August 19 - Open Farm Days
Potable Water For Sale at the coin-op truck fill.
For bookings: 403-664-6600 or 403-664-9872
thebcasoffice@gmail.com
Bruha’s interview went on to say:
Rhoad was born in St. Louis, Missouri, moved to Edmonton, Alberta as a baby but was raised in Dawson Creek, B.C. He attended high school in Langley,
“The 100th Anniversary of the United Church of Canada is Tuesday, June 10, 2025. On Sunday, June 8 we will recognize the anniversary at Cereal United at 9:30 a.m. Worship and Oyen United at 11 a.m. worship. We will also have an Anniversary celebration with the worship service at Knox United, Consort at 11 a.m. on Sunday, June 15.”
Potable Water For Sale at the coin-op truck fill.
As a farmer, it’s important you’re aware of all the risks on your farm in order to promote and practice the best safety measures
Country Gas Co-op Ltd.
OPINION:
The greatest generation gave us exceptional opportunities
BY JOAN JANZEN
Here’s a bit of humour for anyone who finds themselves getting older. That’s everyone, right? So the question is - why do people snore more when they get older? Answer: It’s nature’s way of letting their spouse know they’re still alive.
One of my favourite online voices recently paid tribute to people in their 90s. Dr. Suneel Dhand referred to them as “the greatest generation. “I regularly tell them, with heartfelt gratitude, how easy we have it because of their sacrifices,” he said.
This week, during Ag Safety Week, we pay tribute to our agricultural community, which was built upon the perseverance, discipline, and sacrifice of the greatest generation.
The doctor said one of his greatest privileges has been spending time with the last remaining members of that generation, listening to their stories of rationing, veterans serving during WWII, and stories about the Great Depression. It’s a privilege I also cherish as I’ve listened to individuals share their stories.
The stories I heard included recollections of children being evacuated to safer locations during WWII, unable to see their parents for four years. At that time, young men volunteered to join the military as soon as they were old enough to provide finances for their families because there were few employment opportunities.
It was common for young people to drop out of school after completing Grade 8, and help out on the family farm. “My folks didn’t have money to board me out for high school. That’s the way life went in those days,” one man recalled.
As Dr. Dhand listened to the stories of his elderly patients, he noted they possessed an increasingly rare mindset. “The most profound differences between then and now is the concept of duty has been replaced by the concept of rights,” he observed. The senior generation saw their lives through the lens of responsibility, often placing their obligations above their personal interests.
Sadly, as people age our modern culture tends to forget about them. Although they are physically cared for in senior homes, their valuable contributions are often forgotten.
“Not many are left now but I still see that sharp 90 plus year old weekly on my hospital patient list who I can make a special effort to talk with,” the doctor said. Their generation often grew up having their grandparents living with them in their homes; however now we need to make a special effort to converse with the greatest generation.
“I often wonder what the greatest generation thinks when they observe today’s world?” Dr. Dhand asked. I recalled the story of three 80-year-olds I had heard recently. After seven decades
the three individuals finally discovered they had one thing in common: they were all born in the same concentration camp prior to their liberation in 1945.
Their mothers had carefully preserved the stories of their births. Each of their mothers weighed approximately 70 pounds and gave birth to their premature babies weighing only two to three pounds amidst appalling conditions. Yet their mothers’ determination for the survival of their babies kept both mothers and babies alive.
Stories such as these are unimaginable to our modern society, but what must these three 80-year-old miracle babies think when they hear of increasing anti-semitism in Canada?
Faytene Grasseschi interviewed Richard Robertson, director of research and advocacy, who reported, “The figures are astounding! Jews represent one percent of the Canadian population, yet they represent over 50 percent of the hate crimes in Canada and specifically those targeting religious minorities.” How sad it is for Jews who miraculously survived atrocities, live to be a ripe old age, and then be forced to endure modern day hate crimes.
The greatest generation endured the Dirty 30s. “Nobody knows what poor was until you lived in the 1930’s. A lot of people didn’t have anything, and we didn’t waste anything either,” one woman told me. “If kids today went through half of what we did they wouldn’t make it.”
Another man shared his story and recalled his dad coming home and saying their “bank account was done.” However, they persevered, and a few years later, things turned around when they harvested a good crop.
Dr. Dhand observed, “They built a world that gave future generations unparalleled opportunities.” That is certainly true for our agricultural world. “What we choose to do with those opportunities is up to us.”
A popular question upcoming generations ask is, ‘What is my purpose?’ Dr. Dhand observed that modern society wonders why people haven’t been given success just for showing up, whereas the senior generation asked what they must give in order to succeed. They found their purpose by asking, ‘What is my duty to my family, my community, and my country?’
“As their numbers dwindle, I feel an urgency; younger generations must learn from them while we still can,” Dr. Dhand said. “When they are gone, we will have lost more than just individuals - we will have lost an invaluable perspective on life.”
“Let’s honour their sacrifices, not just with words, but by living with the same integrity, resilience, and duty that defined them,” he urged.
Pop89: Follow them home
BY MADONNA HAMEL
Why is it so hard for one group of people to believe another group when they claim to be hurting? Why are politicians, professionals and media pundits so deaf to people living in rural and factory towns crushed by deindustrialization and the monopolization of big agriculture when they holler: “Helloooo! We are bleeding and on fire!”?
Part of the problem lies in the presumption that the real reason people are upset is because of their own hard-held prejudices. The problem, the academics and legacy media celebs tell us, is really racial, gender or religious prejudice. And, anything else is just a cover.
There ARE racists and misogynists and unChristian Nationalists out there. I’ve encountered them. But every generation has its master narrative. And the biggest one, the most enduring, is the Dream. Sadly, not Martin Luther King’s Dream of being judged by character not skin colour, but the $Dream of becoming a billionaire just like the men standing on the stage behind the president. The $Dream is so strong it even outweighs the fact of individual night-
mares of losing a home due to unpaid mortgage or hospital or heating bills. The $Dream defines the Western world’s measure of worth. And its function.
I’ve mentioned before that we can define a culture’s collective purpose by noting the words used to describe the collective.
Once upon a time we were souls, looking upward. Then we were citizens, looking at our countrymen. Then we became consumers, looking at the shelves. Now we are refered to as users, looking at screens to buy, spy, trash, troll and connect. Our job is to use or be used.
So maybe it’s no surprise that the news, once meant to inform us, is now using us as pawns in mud-slinging contests.
My friend George, a one-man newscaster and cameraman for many years, recently reminded me that the whole news industry changed when it went from being a service to a commodity. It had to turn a profit.
Gone are the days when a news anchor just stuck to the facts. No helpful modifiers and descriptors like “horrible” or “devastating” were necessary when describing crashes or tornadoes; the public were capable of coming to
their own conclusions
But then came the 1980s, we went from being citizens to consumers. And news “shows” became something we consumed, preloaded with opinions and rants, like tv snacks with plenty of additives. Now news is therapeutic, cathartic. Casters and viewers can let their vendettas fly.
And for all the championing a newscaster might do for the working poor, they really have no idea. Because they don’t live like us. And they don’t want to.
I have a surefire test of a newscaster, professor or politician’s grasp of reality: Follow them home. See where they live. If they live in a gated community, or a penthouse, or a five-bedroom-three-cargarage bungalow built for two, they haven’t a clue about the people they report to and claim to represent.
Follow them home and you will see they do not drive a 15-year-old car or a truck held together with baler twine. They go to cocktail parties. They take cabs. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be.
You talk like a Commie, my neighbour laughs. I know. But I’m not; I’m using the language of Christ. Isn’t it ironic how much they sound alike?
Don’t worry. I have no intention of following any CNN or Fox or CBC news host home. I don’t even follow them on Instagram. I can guess where they live. I agree with George, who, for sanity’s sake, keeps coming to visit us in Val Marie because “it’s better to follow the call of the land.”
So, skip their homes and just keep walking…past the suburban and urban silos of the select…past the shopping centres and their vast parking lots, past the overpasses and the off-ramps, past the strip malls, past the box stores and megachurches.
Keep walking past the backyards
PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR HOUSE IS
with abandoned toys and rusty car parts, past the storage units and rental facilities, past the dealerships and minigolf courses and cineplexes. Past the airport, the hangers and plows, past the little lake close enough to town to afford a swim on a hot day after work.
Now you’re getting somewhere. Now you can breathe. Now the sounds of birds take over the sounds of cars. Now you might stop or at least slow the noise of worry, condemnation, scathing judgements and clever put-downs competing for attention in your head, the noise of the news which isn’t news anymore but a litany of things to fear.
Walking along the Frenchman River last night, enjoying a windless evening full of coyote calls and a violet sky of wavelet clouds stippled hot pink, I thought:
The land is the original strong silent type- it quietly stands firm while we let all our anxieties and energies release into it. Oh I know its not an “it”, but a she - a mom, the ultimate den mother. Patient as she sits and watches us make a mess of things, over and over. Occasionally she gets very mad at our constant proddings and extracting. Then she gives us earthquakes and tornadoes.
Once we stepped into the role of consumer, like we were draping our shoulders in ermine and crowns, ginned up on the princely proposition that the “customer is always right”, it was only a matter of time before we’d concede to the idea that “every network has its price.” Which is how we ended up with news anchors who unmoor us and take us out to sea on their private opinion yachts.
So, turn off the news before “Give us more bread than we could spend in one lifetime, and while you’re at it, give us more circuses, too!” replaces “Give us our daily bread.” And give yourself back to the land.
Acadia Municipal Library
BY TRISHA FISCHBUCH
New adult fiction books include So Into You by Kathleen Fuller, Enemy of My Dreams by Jenny Williamson, and Moon of the Turning Leaves by Waubgeshig Rice. The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins is new in non-fiction. Join us for this month’s after-school movie, Escape to Witch Mountain at 3:30 on Tuesday March 25. Free popcorn and juice is provided!
The Easter Bunny has hidden easter eggs in a number of library books for all ages! Hop down to the library between April 1-24 and when you check out a book the Easter Bunny will let us know if there’s an egg. If there is, you will be entered into a draw to win a prize! Good luck!
Last week Miss Elsie hosted the Grade 1, 2, and 3 classes for a St. Patrick’s Day craft. Each student made a stained glass shamrock picture to hang in the window. We hope everyone had fun!
“All real leaders, are readers.” — Dave Ramsey
Canadian pro athletes showing dominance
BY BRUCE PENTON
With our geographical parents, Canada and the United States, seemingly on the verge of divorce, now is a great time to review what might be the best thing to keep these trade-warring countries together.
Sports.
BY BRUCE PENTON Sports Columnist
While the two countries are bitter rivals in hockey, a sport in which they both do well, there is no such heated rivalry in the other major sports. However, Canadian athletes are fully embedded into the fabric of professional basketball, football and baseball.
The most dominant Canadian in a U.S-based pro sports league is the runaway favourite to be this season’s most valuable player in the National Basketball Association, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder. The No. 1 winter sport south of the 49th parallel (it’s a distant No. 2 in Canada) gets more attention from the sports networks than any other, and the guy known as SGA, from Hamilton, Ont., is the league’s best, most dominant player. He is the league’s leading scorer, with more than 32 points per game, and is averaging nearly two points more per game than his nearest competitor, Giannis Antetokounmpo of Milwaukee. SGA is second in steals among all NBA players.
Network observers and columnists who report on the NBA are lavish in their praise of Gilgeous-Alexander and have been declaring him the leader in the MVP race for most of the season.
Canada will have a strong Olympic basketball team led by SGA and a supporting cast featuring Jamal Murray of Denver, R.J. Barrett of the Raptors, Zach Edey of Memphis, Andrew Wiggins of Miami and Dillon Brooks of Houston.
In football, running back Chuba Hubbard of Edmonton is approaching superstar status with the Carolina Panthers after a 2024 season in which he ran for 1,195 yards, despite missing the final two games with a calf injury. Other Canadian NFLers of note are London, Ont., twin bothers Chase and Sydney Brown of the Cincinnati Bengals and Philadel-
phia Eagles respectively. Chase is a running back/ receiver while Sydney plays safety for the Super Bowl champs. Wide receivers John Metchie of Baltimore Ravens (born in Taiwan, raised in Brampton, Ont.) and Josh Palmer of Los Angeles Chargers (also Brampton-raised) and Miami safety Jevon Holland of Coquitlam, B.C., are also NFL stars with Canadian heritage.
Back in the 1960s and 1970s, Canadians playing at a professional level in the U.S. were few and far between. Perhaps the most famous was Chicago Cubs pitcher Ferguson Jenkins, a Hall of Famer who grew up in Chatham, Ont., and was always identified as “Ferguson Jenkins of Chatham, Ontario” in news reports circulated in Canada. Today, however, Major League Baseball rosters are flush with Canadians, led by Maple Ridge, B.C.’s Tyler O’Neill of Baltimore Orioles, who belted 31 homers for Boston last year; the Naylor brothers, Josh and Bo, the pride of Mississauga. Ont., who both play for the Cleveland Guardians, and star reliever Cade Smith of Cleveland, who was born and raised in Abbotsford, B.C., and dozens more.
Thankfully, tariffs don’t apply to sports excellence.
• Greg Cote of the Miami Herald, on one voter denying Ichiro 100 per cent induction into the baseball Hall of Fame: “Why are we surprised … are you familiar with America? In this fractured country we could have a poll that asked, ‘Do you believe in love and happiness?’ and it wouldn’t do 100 per cent.”
• Jeremy Baker on bluesky.app, after Canada didn’t make the medals at the recent World Junior hockey championship: “Some people are complaining about the refs and bad calls. The game was in Ottawa. If Canada can’t find a corrupt ref in Ottawa of all places, we deserve to lose.”
• Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel, on Donald Trump playing a role in talks between LIV and the PGA Tour: “Here’s hoping Trump and Vice President JD Vance don’t invite (Jay) Monahan back to the White House, where they berate him and then side with the Saudis.”
• RJ Currie of sportsdeke.com: “God’s truth: I’ve just watched 11 minutes of TSN without any mention of Leafs’ centre Austin Matthews So I must — oops; they didn’t make it to 12 minutes.”
• Headline at theonion.com: “Homesick Luka Don-
cic Gazes Longingly At Photo Of Barren Dallas Office Park”
• Headline at fark.com, after Seahawks’ DK Metcalf demanded a trade: “DK Metcalf decides he’d rather not stand around and watch Geno Smith hand the ball off all game.”
• Another fark.com offering: “Jets release all the receivers that GM Aaron Rodgers brought in, leaving them free to sign wherever QB Aaron Rodgers’ corpse washes up.”
• Columnist Norman Chad, on things overheard from the four-legged competitors at the Westminster Dog Show in New York: “Donald Trump stopped by and asked to see the American foxhound’s birth certificate.”
• Steve Simmons in the Toronto Sun: “The slow, steady, cautious approach Kevin Cheveldayoff takes in operating the Winnipeg Jets would be terrific if he were handling your financial portfolio. You’d get your 8 per cent every year from Chevy. But you’d never hit on a big one.”
Care to comment? Email brucepenton2003@yahoo.ca
Thursday, March 30, 2023 1:00 p.m.
Thursday, March 27, 2025 1:00 p.m.
Dry Country Gas Co-op Ltd. Back Shop Areas Up for Election: EMPRESS VETERAN ALTARIO
Thursday, March 30, 2023 1:00 p.m. ALTARIO
Dry Country Gas Co-op Ltd. Back Shop AREAS UP FOR ELECTION Acadia Valley, Cereal & Esther
Health care and its twists
BY BERNIE KREWSKI
Equity, equal access, is a cornerstone of Canada’s health care system. So is the less documented frequency of chance, possibility, surprize, and fortuitous circumstances that may arise when one is seeking treatment.
There is much news-talk about the health care system being “broken.” Such discussions often fail to distinguish between the debates over health policies, usually about costs, and the internal operations of health care delivery.
Pat and my experience on Thursday, February 13, is an example.
For two days I had been experiencing severe stomach pains, often recurring every 10-15 minutes. The evening before, we contacted the Alberta Health Link 811 and spoke with a physician who was unable to identify the problem based on the information we provided. He recommended seeing a doctor immediately. Knowing that “walk in” appointments for the next day are now highly problematic, we checked emergency wait times at various hospitals. Most were 4-5 hours, the University Hospital (UAH) was 7 hours - Leduc Hospital (a half-hour drive south of Edmonton) was 1 hour.
By 5:15 a.m. on the 13th, having had little sleep, I was ready to endure the drive to Leduc since the wait time at UAH at that hour remained lengthy - six hours. Departing our residence at 5:45, I thought it might be worthwhile, however, to stop at UAH to check its wait times in person. The screening nurse at the entrance told Pat, while I waited in our vehicle, that priorities were based on the severity of one’s condition.
I joined Pat amidst 30 other people in the waiting area, some asleep in chairs (possibly the “homeless”). The nurse recorded a few notes on a 4x6 inch card, referencing my stomach pain and treatment pending for the recurrence of oral cancer. She consulted the intake main desk, and said we were “admitted.” – a six-minute process.
I was conscious that everyone waiting there deemed their health status to be an “emergency.” And justly so. Was I being favoured, being able to clearly describe my symptoms? Some might infer that I was a participant in “queue-jumping”? Or are the admission criteria in emergency well established, determined by “severity”?
By 6:10 the first stage, “blood work,” was done. By 6:20, I was on a gurney in a cubicle waiting for an emergency physician who arrived in several minutes. Based on the symptoms I presented (abdominal pain, stomach distension, and constipation), she ordered a series of “imaging tests” of the abdomen and chest, 12 lab tests, the insertion of a gastric tube, consults to Gastroenterology and General Surgery, and a Sigmoidoscopy (a camera inserted to observe the inside of the stomach).
That was the first “twist” we encountered - the speedy and smooth entry into the UAH emergency process.
A short walk for a chest x-ray, followed by the insertion of a gastric tube to empty my stomach (which I endured for the next 13 hours), started the diagnostic
process. What followed during the next five hours was intense activity and engagement with emergency staff representing various health disciplines - multiple trips for more x-rays and CT scans, discussions with gastroenterology and surgical residents and their mentors, nurses, and medical technicians.
My laryngectomy and stoma, surprisingly, became another twist – drawing attention. A male nurse noted I was only the second patient he had ever seen in Emergency with this condition. He asked if a student nurse, soon to graduate in April, could see my stoma, explaining to her that I breathe through my throat and not my nose. Later, a respiratory technologist brought stoma supplies, mentioning I had a “nice stoma” that was “very clean,” adding that some are not.
A third twist arose when I was returning from another CT scan, noticing a physician in the hallway who looked familiar. Pat eventually found him, working on another unit in Emergency. I was his mentor during his first two years of medical school when the PIE program (Patient Immersion Experience) was inaugurated in the Faculty of Medicine 2014. He told Pat he noticed my name on the admission list!
At 1:00 I was on my way to Endoscopy (images of interior structures of the body). That procedure, a flexible sigmoidoscopy, is often reported as an unpleasant experience. It’s an exam to see inside of the rectum and part of the large intestine using a thin, flexible tube with a light and camera.
As reported on my file: “The patient underwent moderate sedation. He experienced no blood loss. The procedure was not difficult. The patient tolerated the procedure well.” This was another twist – I was not aware that this procedure even happened!
Returning to Emergency, I was visited by Dr. Klaus Buttenschoen, the general surgeon on call, and his resident. He described Sigmoid Volvulus, a rare form of intestinal obstruction in which the sigmoid colon twists around its own base (“The Twisted Colon: A Review of Sigmoid Volvulus,” Journal of Surgical Sciences, 2019). In my case, I learned, it was only a half-twist!
The term “volvulus,” which may involve any segment of the intestinal tract from stomach to rectum, is a Latin word for twisted, used by the Romans to signify this condition.
Dr. Buttenschoen indicated there is a 50% chance of recurrence. I was given the option of immediate surgery or waiting to see if the condition returned. After more discussion, I chose the latter option, partly because I would soon be having oral surgery.
At 6:00 I was moved to the Rapid Transfer Unit and given food. It consisted of a half-cup of cereal and milk, two crackers, applesauce, and water. We were told that a discharge physician would be visiting. We waited.
At 9:45, another twist. Unexpectedly and to my great surprise, I had a bowel movement. It led to an immediate flurry of activity. The emergency physician doing rounds quickly appeared. The paperwork was completed in several minutes and we left the hospital shortly after 10:00.
A day in the life of a cancer patient! These twists, besides offering comfort, provided many lessons in health care.
Dianne Westerlund nominated for Women in Ag Award
BY JOAN JANZEN
Oyen resident Dianne Westerlund was nominated for AFSC’s (Agriculture Financial Services Corp) Women in Agriculture Award. All 38 award nominees were invited to celebrate their achievements at a gala on March 16th in Calgary.
As a nominee, Dianne is a woman who is shaping the agriculture industry’s future through dedication, passion and commitment to growing and sustaining agriculture in Alberta. As Manager and Forage Agronomist at Chinook Applied Research Assoc. (CARA), Dianne was honoured to be nominated.
She felt her strength lay in a behind-the-scenes role and credited her accomplishments with a team effort combined with the support of family, the Board of Directors, staff, local producers, and peers.
Dianne graciously provided the following account of her time at CARA.
After graduating from the U of S with a BSc in Agriculture in 1981, she joined CARA as a summer technician. When the Program Coordinator left in late summer, the Board gave her the opportunity to take on the leading role at CARA.
Over the years, CARA’s program has expanded. They now have seven full-time staff equivalents, including a PhD in Soils and four BSc’s. Two seasoned Field Technicians have been with the program for the past several years, and four or more summer students assist with adaptive research projects.
CARA’s capacity has grown to include a full component of small plot field equipment, as well as all necessary processing and monitoring tools. Local producers who donate use of their land for trials are a huge asset for CARA.
In 2018, their program expanded with the open -
ing of the Soil Health lab, a unique facility that offers evaluation of soil health indicators, assessment of compost and plant materials, and training opportunities for farmers, ranchers, industry, and students to better understand and monitor soil health. Dianne reported that the lab has processed thousands of samples for individual operations and research projects.
In addition to their projects, CARA staff lead and/or participate in a number of agricultural initiatives. Staff are also asked to present information to producers and industry across Alberta and western Canada.
“CARA‘s program wouldn’t be possible without the support from local producers, the Special Areas Board, the MD of Acadia, our Ag Services Boards as well as agri-businesses within our agricultural community,” Dianne said. “Funding and in-kind contributions enable CARA to connect ag research and innovation to the farm level.”
A sincere thank you to Dianne for giving us a window into the extensive work done at CARA. The community offers their heartfelt congratulations on her much-deserved nomination.
Dianne Westerlund, CARA Manager and Forage Agronomist at Oyen was nominated for AFSC’s (Agriculture Financial Services) Women in Agriculture Award.
MAKE SAFETY A PRIORITY
Ensure
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• Aftermarket Body Parts (fenders, grilles, headlights) for most MAKES and
upon request.
Oyen and District Seniors Report
SUBMITTED BY BETH SYMES
Eight people gathered for a delicious Pot Luck Supper at the Oyen and District Seniors Recreation Centre on the beautiful evening of March 5. Six more members of the Senior’s organization came at 7:00 PM for the meeting. Lynda called that to order at 7:01. Beth moved the minutes be adopted as presented and Sherry presented the financial report.
Items of both new and old business were then discussed. First items of business were Grants. The money received from the New Horizons Grant which had to be spent by the end of March has now been fully spent, partly on Gift Certificates to the Green house which will be used at the appropriate time to purchase plants to be planted outside the building and light bulbs which will replace bulbs inside the building. Three members had attended a presentation by Helene Nicholson about the CFSEA grant. It is too late in the grant cycle to make an application now but group learned that the next possibility will be on August 8,2025.
The meeting was able to move ahead on Memorial Book in that the seven names of former members, who have died since 2022, have been given to Kyna. She will enter names and appropriate dates in this book. Prior to that names had been placed on plaques but it had been decided in 2024 to begin placing them in a Memorial Book rather than continue to use plaques.
ing will continue on Wednesday afternoons at 1:00 PM through March and April. People gather to play Pickle Ball on Thursday evenings. The last Fun Night was on February 28, when 14 seniors gathered to play pool, cards and table games. The next Fun Night will be on March 21. ( You will note that this is the third Friday as opposed to the fourth and will only be for the month of March.) The April Fun Night will be on April 25th. The next Seniors Pot Luck and Meeting will be on May 7,2025. All of these activities continue to be open for dropping in on for the first time, as winter moves along, at the Seniors Recreation Centre. We are always happy to welcome new seniors (50+).
Oyen Eagles move to league final
A 3-2 victory over the Provost Combines at the Veren Place arena on March 11 enabled the Oyen Eagles to capture their semi-final playoff round. The 5 game series included an exciting, come-from-behind, OT win for the Eagles, a growing number of injuries as well as some controversial plays and calls. Hundreds of fans followed their teams back and forth between Provost and Oyen during the battle between the long term league rivals.
The series final game was a great watch for the dedicated fans. Rookie goalie, Mason FIldey-Holyj, was outstanding once again facing 38 shots.
Fax:
• Most rebuilt transfer cases, upon request.
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• Rebuilt GM transfer cases and used GM powertrain parts in stock. FREE pickup of all unwanted vehicles.
The final sections of the By Laws were reviewed and Lorraine will print out By-Laws with the revisions which have made and have them ready for the next meeting.
The regular activities at the Seniors Recreation Centre are continuing as scheduled. Cheryl has two Crafting days scheduled in March, March 11 and March 25. She has just signed up a new member who is interested in this activity which goes from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM on Tuesdays or any part of that time. Floor Curl-
The Combines opened the scoring early in the second but the Eagles responded with goals from Braxton Thornton, Jayden Smith and Logan Boehlke. A power play goal from the Combines made for a nail biting last half of the period, but the Eagles managed to lock in the win.
The Eagles play the Sedgewick Sabres in the finals.
Newsworthy Notes from The Big Country Agricultural Society
Governance Highlights:
• Directors will be taking a deep-dive into the Bylaws over the year to improve our understanding and edit as needed.
• Directors are scheduling a meeting with Carmen Andrew to undertake governance training and to develop a governance plan
• The Big Screen TV will be swivel mounted; it can be used for advertising, watching events, etc.
Kenney government’s gas tax cut provides needed help to taxpayers
EDMONTON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is applauding the Kenney government’s decision to pause the provincial fuel tax while oil prices are soaring. Removing the provincial fuel tax will save taxpayers 13 cents per litre on gasoline.
B C A S
A beautifully serene landscape scene adorns a memorial wall in the entry of Big Country Hospital. Dating back to April 1, 1996, each person on this wall has had a donation made in their memory. No set amount is needed to have a name on the wall, which was created and is maintained through a grant from AHS. Tax deductible donations are always welcome and can be mailed to Box 1, Oyen, Alberta T0J 2J0, by e-transfer at oyenhealthfoundation@outlook.com or in-person at the front office of Big Country Hospital 8:00 am – 3:00 pm Monday to Friday.
• The BCAS Board is supporting East Central Regional 4-H with $200.
• Farmer’s Market will be only charged actual insurance costs, rather than the $500 flat rate they have historically paid.
Oyen & District Health Care FoundationEnhancing Health Care for Over 25 Years
• Remember to “Call before You Haul” and to “Clean up After Yourself.” The Board is working on new signage for the entrances in the near future regarding Arena Rules and consequences for not cleaning up behind yourselves.
Established in 1995 as Oyen Hospital Foundation, notification was received April 1, 1996, to officially be renamed Oyen & District Health Care Foundation attaining charitable government status.
• The creation of a courtyard for the enjoyment of the LTC residents and their families.
• The Board is further investigating co-sanctioning opportunities.
• Committees: Please watch for the committee sign up sheet
“The Kenney government has stepped up to the plate to help taxpayers who are struggling with record gas prices,” says Kevin Lacey Alberta Director with the CTF. “Eliminating the provincial gas tax is a great way to give taxpayers a break.”
Gasoline prices include 10 cents a cial gas tax, five per cent GST and 8.8 cent carbon tax. At today’s prices, taxes make up approximately 41 cents of the
ing the carbon tax from 11 cents a litre on April 1.
The Alberta government’s gas tax cut will take effect on April 1.
• The Board heard a presentation regarding purchasing options of a skid steer.
- Committees will now budget for the expense of renting skid steers for set up/ tear down of events.
• Duet bikes for the therapeutic recreation biking program.
• Improvements are being done on our Facebook page and towards a Website.
• Furnishing of a palliative care suite.
• A Custodial Contract is being constructed.
- Committee meetings will be held regularly and posted.
- At least one director is serving on each committee to liaise with the Board
- Director committee responsibilities will include:
• Communicating with our board, including the treasurer
• Submitting budgets and terms of reference for events in a timely manner.
There have been many dedicated trustees over the years, and it is important to focus on what these individuals have done collectively. Approximately $1,045,800 have funded various projects and pieces of equipment in both Big Country Hospital and Community Health Services. Careful consideration was given to each request presented to the board to ensure that the lives of patients, clients, residents, staff and physicians would benefit.
• Regularly reporting (written and verbal) to the board meetings
Although all the purchases are very important and too numerous to mention, some of the most noteworthy include:
• Collecting and compiling volunteer hours and submitting to the Board.
• Susie Q Hot Meal Carts to enhance meal delivery and resident satisfaction. Currently, revenue is received through an annual fall mail-out campaign, memorial and general donations, casinos, and an AHS organized staff lottery. Generous support is also welcomed from many community services clubs helping to purchase numerous beds, oxygen concentrators and stretchers, just to name a few. It should also be noted that all administrative costs are covered by a grant from AHS and do not come out of donations.
• Terms of reference are being developed for event host committees, which detail the responsibilities of both the committees and of the Board.
• The Board is proud to be supporting the Big Country High School Rodeo April 25-27th, 2025.
Appointments for third doses for Albertans aged 12 to 17 can now be booked for March 14 onward at AHS clinics and participating pharmacies through the Alberta Vaccine Booking system. Albertans can also call 811 to book vaccination appointments with AHS.
• BCAS will post sponsorship signs on the interior walls to recognize all $1000+ cash or in-kind donations per year.
• The March Board meeting met with Perry Cramer (NFP) regarding insurance.
• CFSEA will be invited to make a presentation to the Board at the April Meeting
While the rate of severe outcomes for youth aged 12 to 17 remains low compared with those in older age categories or for youth
• The Board continues to research security cameras and research insurance implications.
Safety is our Standard
“Premier Jason Kenney has made the first move and now the ball is in the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s to court to do the right thing and cut the carbon tax to protect taxpayers,” said
This gas tax cut will save a family
way to strengthen protec tion against severe outcomes from COVID-19.
As restrictions on youth activities have ended and more normal school life resumes, I encourage parents and guardians to consider getting their children boosters based on their family’s individual circumstances.”
Jason Copping, Youth under the age sion from a parent or son at the appointment or by a signed consent form – to be vaccinated. Identification that shows a birthdate is also required for all vaccinations. An Alberta Health Care card is not required. For more information on vaccines for children and youth, visit alberta. ca/vaccine.
Big Country Ag Society
Annual General Meeting of the ACADIA SEED
PROCESSING CO-OP
Monday, March 31, 2025 2:00 PM in the AFSC Meeting Room.
O Canada
BY SHERI MONK Guest Columnist
“When tillage begins, other arts follow. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of human civilization.“ Daniel Webster
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electorate or democracy.
I ordinarily flirt a little too much with deadlines, but this time I wasn’t playing. The political and economic climate has been changing so frequently, there was no point in writing sooner than last minute. Whatever I write will likely be dated by the time you read it, so I’m not going to get into the details of tariffs, counter tariffs and trade wars. In this context, the details don’t especially matter anyway.
Here’s what does: Our MPs and MP hopefuls need to hear from us, loudly and often. They need to hear from the overwhelming majority that we are Canadian first, and that we will fight for our nation. There is no room for division and no margin for error. Regardless of their political stripes, you let them know that we are not interested in adding stars to the mix.
For too long we have allowed the deliberate division of our populace, through social media engineering. The evidence is irrefutable. Programmed bots have been seeded throughout social media for years, sowing what we are now reaping. In psychology, sabotaging relationships by creating a divide is called triangulation, and boy, has Canada ever fallen for it.
Increasingly, we were exposed to extreme views on controversial topics. The comments were made on news articles, memes and videos and they were designed to cause tension and to drive citizens further apart. What was the extreme appeared as the norm, and the vast majority of us in the middle acquiesced into what we thought was reality. It wasn’t. It was a manufactured substrate in which hate and fear could be carefully cultivated for a dark harvest later. Folks, the crop is ripe and the combine is ready.
I’ve long believed that the most dangerous government is an entrenched one. When I first came to Saskatchewan, the NDP had been in power for far too long, and when the Saskatchewan Party won, change was sorely needed. Likewise, when I arrived in Alberta, the Conservatives had been in government for my entire lifetime. The former NDP in Saskatchewan and the former Conservatives in Alberta may have had different names and colors but they behaved in exactly the same way, with too little respect for their
It’s the same at a workplace. If you have a too lax of a manager, productivity declines. Likewise, it can be the same in a marriage. Over time, effort wanes when life seems easy and when things are easy, we become bored. It is the same with business. Once a company becomes too large, they are no longer accountable to their customers and the checks and balances of capitalism stagger. We are driven by rarity, by novelty, by the juicy grapes just out of reach. Those grapes though, once we finally clasp them in our needy little hands, are often full of wrath.
This is human nature. We want what we can’t have and overlook what we do. We follow the path of least resistance. Gravity weighs us down, and the more it drags on us, the less we seem to feel it.
That is why we have never diversified our economy. It was simply easier not to. In a culture that vilifies public spending, there has been little public sanction to create economic infrastructure outside of looming disaster.
Remember the BSE crisis? When we couldn’t slaughter our cattle fast enough, much less consume them all? We threw money at that wreck as if it was going out of style. But guess what? Slaughter capacity is roughly the same today. Like everything else, it is a balancing act of crisis and calm, profit and loss, supply and demand. But if we make it through this with intact borders and a functioning economy, we will need to think beyond our wallets for longterm security. There can be no doubt now about how much we have risked on the altar of the U.S. dollar.
Whatever plagues us in Canada, we can sort it out among ourselves. We have always bounced between left and right like a puck between the blue lines. (Could this even be a patriotic opinion column without at least one hockey reference?) We had Stephen Harper as our leader for many years—a conservative Albertan—and he has been vocal in his opposition to any loss of our sovereignty.
Writing this now, I find it astounding that I must invoke the influence of a conservative former prime minister just to sway others to retain our national identity, sovereignty, and borders. This should be a given—one of the few things we can believe with certainty. But
if there is one thing I am learning from all this, it is that nothing can be taken for granted—least of all freedom and democracy.
I don’t know whether Canada will elect Mark Carney or Pierre Poilievre. If Carney is smart, he will call the election soon because the “dictatorship” sonnet being sung to us from the south is growing louder. And not just from random Russian bots—but from THE Russian bot, Donald Trump. What he says and how he says it mirrors the divisive language used for over a decade to weaken us. That is no coincidence. We may have been duped before, but there is no excuse now. It is staring us in the face, daring us to ignore it. Carney, I think, will see this as the existential crisis it is and deal with it accordingly in an effort to unite Canada – but I am not sure that will appease the Musk/Trump team.
If Pierre Poilievre is elected, Trump will take that as a personal victory. It will take a great deal of ass-kissing to get Trump to give up on his 51st state fantasy, and Poilievre is the only one with the stomach for it. When this country votes, Canada will be voting on the approach we take with the U.S. for the next four years. If Poilievre can massage Trump’s monstrous ego enough, we may end up with a happy-ending deal in which we lose his tariffs and keep our land.
Once the votes are counted we must stand united as Canadians behind that leader. Our politicians must continue to see a sovereign Canada united, and the Americans/ Russians must see there is no longer any room for triangulating us. Our focus must be on our sovereignty first, our economy second-first, and everything else third—at least until January 2029. Let us pray it is no longer than that.
No matter who is elected, we can (hopefully) survive a four-year term without succumbing to a bot-inspired civil war. The Trump sycophants among us must be ignored like screaming toddlers while being given the opportunity to make better decisions. But if they hold office or seek office, we cannot afford mercy—they must be cast aside like the weakest links they are.
Whatever the United States used to be to us, whatever it meant, and whatever friendship we believed was there… these things are transformed today. Maybe not forever, but for now. Today we have an American KGB, drunk with power and lusting for more. Those are not our values and theirs are not our ways.
Rural Roots Baseball Classic set for June 8th in Oyen
LETHBRIDGE - The Western Canadian Baseball League is returning to its roots this summer.
With the inaugural Rural Roots Baseball Classic, the WCBL will pay homage to its history and championship spirit.
The highlight of the weekend will be a regular-season game between the Lethbridge Bulls and Sylvan Lake Gulls at Doug Lehman Field in Oyen, Alberta. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 8th.
Oyen was selected as the first host of the Rural Roots Baseball Classic – which is set to become an annual tradition –in celebration of the Oyen Pronghorns championship season in the Saskatchewan Major Baseball League (SMBL) in 1995.
“We are very excited for the Rural Roots Baseball Classic. This is our version of Major League Baseball’s Field of Dreams game that they hold in Iowa,” said WCBL President Kevin Kvame.
“We’re going to try to move it around each year to a historical baseball location in our footprint and put on a reg-
...O Canada
ular-season WCBL game with two of our franchises. We’re excited to start in Oyen with a big community festival that will salute the Pronghorns.”
The Pronghorns became the first team from Alberta to win a title in the SMBL and opened the door for the Lethbridge Bulls to join the league in 1999, transforming the circuit to the Western Major Baseball League (WMBL) in 2002 until it was rebranded into the current WCBL in 2018. The Pronghorns helped elevate the league into a two-province entity that represented the growing baseball communities of Alberta and Saskatchewan.
TEAM TIES
Several ties between the Pronghorns, Bulls and Gulls exist to this day.
Aqil Samuel, the president of the Sylvan Lake Gulls, had the first at bat for the Pronghorns when they joined the SMBL.
“My two summers in Oyen were great. I was still in high school but got a chance to play in the Saskatchewan Major Baseball League. Oyen actually became a bit of
What has happened to Ukraine is criminal. We knew it was criminal when Putin invaded. When the USSR collapsed in 1991, Ukraine inherited the third-largest nuclear arsenal in the world. In 1994, they agreed to return that arsenal to Russia for dismantling in exchange for security assurances. Both Russia and the U.S. signed the agreement—now both have betrayed it. If there is one silver lining to all of this, it is that I have seen Canada more united over the past several weeks than I have seen… perhaps ever. When Quebec is willing to fight for Canada, when
a second home for me for years, and I still have some great friends in the area. To be part of this league all these years later is pretty special and I can’t wait to go back,” said Samuel.
“Bringing the Gulls back to Oyen to play the Bulls is going to be fun. Oyen is such a baseball town … it is going to be a great atmosphere and I know it is going to be well supported by the entire community.”
Graham Schetzsle – the founder & CEO of the Gulls - played first base on the 1995 championship team alongside Todd Hubka, who was the first head coach of the Lethbridge Bulls. Hubka continues to coach the Prairie Baseball Academy (PBA) in Lethbridge, which feeds a number of players to the WCBL every year.
Oyen Mayor Doug Jones is a past-president of the WCBL and member of the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame who helped establish the Badlands Baseball Academy in the town of 900 people. He also helped current WCBL President Kevin Kvame bring the Bulls into the league in 1999.
WEEKEND ACTIVITIES
The game between the Gulls and Bulls will help celebrate the contribution of the Oyen Pronghorns to the WCBL and it will also include a full slate of weekend activities.
Planned events include a golf tournament, barbeque, pancake breakfast, youth baseball camp and a 30th reunion of the ’95 Pronghorns team. Along with the signature Rural Roots Baseball Classic game between the Gulls and Bulls, there is a 13U game scheduled for a team from Oyen and Lethbridge. Many more festivities – which will be announced at a later date - are sure to make Oyen the place to be in early June.
GET TICKETS NOW
Tickets for the Rural Roots Baseball Classic are available through the Lethbridge Bulls website at https://tickets. bullsbaseball.com
The Bulls will officially be the home team for the game against the Sylvan Lake Gulls. The game starts at 3:30 pm on Sunday, June 8th at Doug Lehman Field.
Indigenous leaders stand up for our the land we share, we know two things –the situation is serious, but we are closer together than we thought. There is great hope and great wisdom in that.
Our grandfathers before us bled and died for the freedom and democracy we have taken for granted all these years. They would be horrified to see what has transpired south of us. We owe it to them and to our children to ensure it goes no farther.
Sheri Monk is a freelance writer based out of Medicine Hat, AB. She can be reached at sherimonk@gmail.com
25033TG1
OYEN LODGE Lisa Gould and Clark Huston entertain with Irish music
BY DIANNE SPATH
Hello, everyone. Oyen Lodge residents and staff would like to extend our condolences to Antonia Shubert’s family. Antonia lived in self-contained at the Lodge for many years before she moved to the Lodge residency, then to the Auxiliary. Our thoughts and prayers to all the Shubert families.
It is nice to see the Acadia Municipal dam filling up with water this year. It will be nice to take the residents on a tour when we are on the next trip to Acadia Valley. It sure would be good if the dugouts filled up for the ranchers this year, also.
Monday morning started with exercises followed by card games. Father Rodell Abanto had Catholic Church Service at 10:30. In the afternoon was bingo. Monday was “National Napping Day,” so hopefully, everyone caught up on their sleep after Daylight Savings Time.
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COMING EVENTS
EDMONTON STAMP CLUB. 2025 - SPRING NATIONAL
STAMP SHOW. March 29-30. Central Lion’s Recreational Centre, 111 Avenue & 113 Street; Saturday 10-5 PM, Sunday 10-4 PM. Food Bank donation box as well. www. Edmontonstampclub.ca.
FIREARMS WANTED FOR OUR 2025 AUCTION PROGRAM: Firearms, Ammunition, Accessories, or Militaria. Collections, Estates or single items. For Auction,
Tuesday morning was exercises and the regular bus run downtown. Phase ten card games were played before lunch. Tuesday afternoon there was an ice cream parlour. Banana splits, floats and sundaes were served.
Wednesday morning was Church with John Rhoad, followed by crossword games. In the afternoon, there were shuffleboard games.
Thursday morning started with the grade 9 class working with the residents on their short story writing activity for the book that they will be publishing. ATB Financial was at the Lodge from 10-11:00 a.m. for the residents to do their banking. Thursday afternoon Lisa Gould and Clark Huston entertained the Lodge with their music. Lisa plays the fiddle and the duo sound great together. St. Patrick’s Day was only a few days away, so they played some Irish music for the residents to enjoy.
Happy Birthday to Tom Tracy on March 13th. Friday morning started with exercises, followed by horse races. Willie, the number 4 horse was top winner that day. In the afternoon there was card bingo, and, in the evening, there was music by Jorgenson’s.
March 20th is the first day of Spring and this year it sure is like Spring. Have a great week everyone and hope you all enjoyed some green beer on St. Patrick’s Day.
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Clark Huston and Lisa Gould entertained residents with Irish music.
2025 Crossroads Beef Expo
Pen Show Winners
Youth Show Winners
Youth Showmanship Winners
Grand Champion 2 Year Old Bulls — Wildflower Angus
Grand Champion Purebred Yearling Heifers — Lazy MC Cattle Co
Reserve Champion Yearling Bulls — Niwa Ranching
Grand Champion Steer — Colby Symens
Grand Champion Heifer — Myra Murray
Reserve Champion Steer — Layton Chamberlain
Reserve Champion Heifer— Cheyenne Symens
1st Place
Showmanship — Rilynn Stewart
— Myra Murray
Mason Zwicker
Celebrating 30 Years of faith, learning, and community
Christ The Redeemer (CTR) Catholic Schools is celebrating a significant milestone - 30 years of faith-filled education, community growth, and unwavering dedication to students and families through the gift of Catholic education.
Established in 1995, CTR Catholic was formed through the amalgamation of Okotoks RCSSD #346, Drumheller RCSSD #25, and Assumption RCSSD #50, bringing together Catholic communities that had been advocating for faith-based education for decades. While CTR Catholic has officially existed as a division for 30 years, many of its schools have even deeper roots. Assumption School in Oyen was founded in 1955, St. Anthony’s School in Drumheller in 1959, and the Catholic school system in Okotoks was formally organized in 1989 before joining the new division. Over the years, CTR Catholic has expanded, strengthening its presence in seven communities across Alberta and extending its reach through The Centre for Learning@HOME, offering virtual education, home-schooling and distance education to more than 3,000 students in communities throughout the entire province since 1989.
“Reaching this milestone is a testament to the perseverance, faith, and commitment of the many educators, families, and students who have shaped
CTR Catholic recently celebrated 30 years of Catholic education during our Faith Days (Feb. 18-19), where teachers and administrators gathered for two days of faith formation, reflection, and community. Rooted in this year’s theme, Joyful Witness, we embraced our call to share faith, hope, and joy with one another and with God.
CTR Catholic over the past 30 years,” said Dr. Andrea Holowka, Superintendent of CTR Catholic Schools. “From our humble beginnings to serving thousands of students today, we remain dedicated to fostering a strong Catholic identity, academic excellence, and a deep sense of community for generations to come.”
Faith Days Celebration – Honoring 30 Years of Catholic Education
A key moment in CTR Catholic’s anniversary celebrations took place on February 18-19 in Okotoks during the division’s annual Faith Days, where all teachers and administrators gathered for faith formation and development. The event opened with Mass celebrated
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING AMENDMENT TO SPECIAL AREAS LAND USE ORDER
A PUBLIC HEARING WILL BE HELD TUESDAY, MARCH 25, 2025 BEGINNING AT 1:00 PM
PLACE: SPECIAL AREAS YOUNGSTOWN SERVICE CENTRE, MAIN BOARDROOM, 404-2ND AVE NE, YOUNGSTOWN, AB
Pursuant to the Municipal Government Act (MGA) , the Special Areas Board intends to consider a proposed amendment to Land Use Order (MSD: 064/24) (LUO).
An application has been submitted to the Board that proposed to amend the LUO by introducing definitions, uses and regulations for Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) within the Special Areas.
The proposed amendments aim to regulate future BESS developments, including a planned 10 MW Off -Site Battery Energy Storage System in Special Area No. 2, located southwest of Hanna and southeast of Delia (SW 18-30-16-W4M), which is currently under review by the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC).
The proposed amendments include the following:
• Adding definitions for Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), distinguishing between Off-Site BESS, On-Site BESS (Small) and On-Site BESS (Large)
• Updating relevant Land Use Districts for BESS developments, including discretionary and permitted uses
• Establishing specific regulations for Off-Site and On-Site BESS, including AUC approval requirements, setbacks, and Emergency Response Plans
• Adding On-Site BESS (Small) to the list of uses not requiring a development permit as required
All BESS projects 1 MW or greater require an application process and approval through the AUC.
Copies of the proposed amendments to the LUO are available at Special Areas district offices during regular business hours and online at www.specialareas.ab.ca
Any person adversely or otherwise affected by this action, and wishing to address the Board relating to this matter, may attend the public hearing at 1:00 PM on March 25, 2025. Time limit of oral presentations is subject to the Chair’s discretion.
Written comments and suggestions are invited and should be addressed to “Proposed Amendment - Special Areas Board Land Use Order”. Submissions may be mailed to: Maeghan Chostner, Communications Officer Special Areas Board Box 820, 212-2nd Ave. W. Hanna, AB T0J 1P0
Submissions may be emailed to: public.input@specialareas.ab.ca
Written submissions must be received by 4:30 pm on Thursday, March 20, 2025. Written comments will be presented publicly to the Board at the above hearing date.
This notice is given pursuant to Sections 606 and 692 of the Municipal Government Act
Publication: March 10 & 17, 2025
by Bishop William McGrattan, during which he blessed commemorative crucifixes that have since been gifted to each CTR Catholic school.
These crucifixes are crafted from olive wood from the Holy Land, contain soil from Bethlehem, stone from Jerusalem, olive leaves, frankincense, and incense from the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. The Fourteen Stations of the Cross are carved on the back, making each cross a lasting tribute to the faith and dedication that have shaped CTR Catholic over the past three decades.
“This gift is a tribute to the faith that has guided our journey and will continue to strengthen our schools for years to come,” said Dr. Holowka.
A Legacy of Growth and Commitment
Since its formation, CTR Catholic has continued to expand its reach, opening new schools and outreach programs to serve Alberta’s growing Catholic community. Today, CTR Catholic operates 13 traditional schools, four outreach schools, and The Centre for Learning@ HOME, serving more than 10,000 students across seven communities. With over 500 teachers and 300 support staff, the division continues to provide high-quality Catholic education while adapting to the evolving needs of students and families.
couple found this newspaper clipping and posted it on Facebook. Notice the date of this issue of the Lethbridge Herald is June, 1961. The Buy Canadian promotion has been going on for a long time.
An Alberta
PARKER — Wesley Maurice Parker of Brooks, Alberta, born June 29, 1954, in Wadena, Saskatchewan, son of George and Ellen Parker, passed away in Calgary, Alberta on March 8, 2025, with his daughters, Denea and Chelsea, by his side.
Wesley Maurice Parker
June 29, 1954 - March 8, 2025
Wes was a beloved husband, a doting father and grandfather, cherished uncle, brother, and friend. To know Wes was to love him. He exemplified both strength and softness. He loved it unconditionally and showed that love in all he did. He was the first to show up in a moment of need, bringing his “get ‘er done” attitude with him. He was patient, gentle and kind. He baked the best cookies and carrot cake. Wes will be fondly remembered for his keen wit, his generous spirit, his sense of mischief/humor and the twinkle in his eye when he cracked a joke. Wes loved golf, camping, the lake, music, playing Scrabble, cards and other games, especially because he almost always won. Wes was a respected craftsman, known for his work ethic, professionalism and talent as a framer and contractor. He will be remembered for his skillful framing of many homes in Brooks, for building custom stairs and projects and for constructing the best doll houses ever built for his daughters, nieces, and granddaughters.
Wes was predeceased by both parents, George, and Ellen Parker, formerly of Oyen, Alberta and Quill
Lake, Saskatchewan, brother John Parker and sister Georgina Parker, sister-in laws Dawna Butler and Sharon Nickel and brothers-in-law Harvey Geortzen and Rick Kunz. He is survived by his wife Donna (Elder), daughters Denea and Chelsea, grandchildren Kale, Lily, Declynn and Chloe; siblings Florence (Dale), Francis, Ellen, Walter (Pat), Esther (Randy), sister-in-law Yvonne; siblings-in-law Dorothy (Jim), Tom (Gun-Britt), Faye (Richard), Jim (Suzette), Marie (Tom), Shirley (Keith), Janice (Paul); bonus children and grandchildren, Derek, Amy, Paisley, Kip and Oaklyn Becker; and his many cherished nieces, nephews and great nieces and nephews.
Wes was widely regarded as a favourite uncle, and he loved his extended family deeply and wholly. Wes’s life will be Celebrated on Saturday, March 29, 2025, at the Brooks Kin Hall (200 7th Street East) at 2:00 PM. The Celebration will be an informal, come and go’ style opportunity for friends and family to connect, share memories, tell stories, and socialize. There will be no formal funeral or service. An additional Celebration will be held in early summer in the form of a golf tournament and campout. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating directly to the Calgary Health Foundation to support Cardiac Care, 800-110212 Macleod Trail SE, Calgary, Alberta T2J 6A5 or donating blood to Canadian Blood Services in his memory.
Cremation is entrusted to and conducted at Smith Funeral Home Ltd., Brooks. Funeral arrangements entrusted to: SMITH FUNERAL HOME LTD., BROOKS, ALBERTA. Condolences may be forwarded through www.sfh.ca
Antonia Mary Shubert (Grudecki)
April 5, 1936 - March 13, 2025
SHUBERT - Antonia Mary Shubert (Gru decki) was born on April 5, 1936 and died on March 13, 2025. She was born at home with twin sister Annie to Polish parents Louis and Victoria Grudecki. Antonia took her schooling at the Grant School and then later onto Acadia Valley.
She worked at Broder’s store in Empress for 2 1/2 years. During this time, she met and married Jo seph Shubert on February 27, 1957. Together, they farmed south of the Valley. After Joe’s passing in 1980, Antonia remained on the farm until 1997, when she built a house in the Valley.
While in town, Toni enjoyed her large, beautiful garden and sharing it with everyone. She also enjoyed hosting dinners and canasta evenings.
Antonia also enjoyed farming, quilting, knitting and baking, especially bread.
She belonged to the Acadia St. Mary’s CWL and Acadia Seniors Club.
In 2010, Toni moved into an apartment at the lodge in Oyen and later, in 2019, moved into LongTerm Care after breaking her arm. She remained here until her passing. While there, she enjoyed making her hangers, which she managed to manage over 5,000 of. She happily shared them with everyone.
Antonia was predeceased by her husband Jo-
seph in 1980, her parents Louis and Victoria Grudecki, her in-laws Anthony and Mary Shubert, and all of her siblings: Johnny, Chester, Polly, Teresa, Twin Annie, Helen, and Steve.
Along with sister and brotherin-laws, she is survived by numerous nieces and nephews.
A special Thank you to the doctors, Nurses, and staff at Big Country Long Term Care for the wonderful care and kindness Antonia received over the years.
Memorial tributes may be directed to Heart and Stroke Foundation 1200-2300 Yonge Street, Box 2414 Toronto, Ont. M4P1E4, Halo Air Ambulance #12 1 Airport Drive SW Medicine Hat, AB T1A 5G4 or to St. Peter and St. Paul’s Roman Catholic Church Please make Cheques payable to Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church memo to Restoration Fund St. Peter and St. Paul’s.
A Prayer Service was held on Tuesday, March 18, 2025.
Funeral Mass was held on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, at St. Mary’s Roman in Acadia Valley. Antonia was laid to rest at St. Peter and Paul’s Cemetery.
If you wish to leave a message of condolence or share a memory, please visit ofsmacleans.com Funeral arrangements in care of MacLean’s Funeral Home, Oyen, Alberta.
The refurbishment of the palliative care suite
SUBMITTED BY LESLEE VAN OTTERLOO
Dame Cicely Saunders, the founder of the modern hospice movement and palliative care, famously said, “you matter because you are you, and you matter to the last moment of your life”.
Palliative care or end of life care focuses on maintaining dignity and quality of life, pain and symptom management and support for families through a difficult period. Big Country Hospital has been providing palliative care for decades and can now continue to do so in a newly refurbished environment.
The palliative care suite was originally created in 1994 by the Oyen Hospital Foundation. Thirty years later it was apparent that an upgrade was necessary. Oyen & District Health Care Foundation (O&DHCF) began this journey in conjunction with Alberta Health Services (Big Country Hospital) management and staff in the fall of 2022. Actual construction started in July 2024 under the direction of the hospital maintenance department and was completed in February 2025.
Included in this suite are many comforts which help to ensure both patient and family feel they are in a home like setting. Where possible, local contractors and businesses were used in this
CEREAL
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19
• Cereal Board of Trade Annual General Meeting 7:00 PM at the C.J. Peacock Centre. Seeking volunteers to help promote business and improve life in and around Cereal.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26
• Cereal Community Club AGM 7:00 PM at the Cereal Community Centre. Everyone is welcome to attend.
SUNDAY, APRIL 6
• Cereal & District Board of Trade 2025 Marathon Bingo 1:00 PM & 5:30 PM starts (Doors open at 11:30 AM) at the CJ Peacock Centre (415 Main Street). Admission: $10 for each session (ie $10 for the afternoon; $10 for the evening)
- Cereal Cottages Coffee on Tuesdays 10:30
- 11:30 AM
- Quilting Club weekly Wednesdays 10:00 AM
- 4 PM at the CJ Peacock Centre.
- Cereal Playground most Tuesdays 10:00 AM at the CJ Peacock Centre.
project. Jayce Smigelski gave the room a fresh coat of paint, Floor Designs installed flooring and the maintenance department was in charge of demolition and upgrades to plumbing and electrical. Reconfigured and located cabinetry, countertops and sliding door were installed by TBC General Contracting. Furnishings purchased from HBI Business Interiors ensured that all materials and construction were sturdy and of a washable material meeting infection and prevention standards. Wall mount smart TV’s, clock and misc.
kitchen items were purchased at Oyen Home Hardware. Image Crafters of Drumheller created a beautiful recognition plaque. Locally known artist, Keith Thomson’s, work adorns the walls and two quilts, graciously donated by the Sibbald Quilt Club, keep the patient warm and cozy. Modern pole lighting adds a warm ambience to the room come evening.
The O&DHCF was pleased to work with our local hospital management and staff in this project and acknowledge the countless hours and expense they
incurred. This foundations share was $87,356.70 and are grateful to all the individuals and families near and far that helped to fund this project. Your continued support allows enhancements like this to become a reality.
EMPRESS
MONDAY, MARCH 24
• Empress Friendship Centre Friendship Suppers 5:30-6:30 PM. Please RSVP to 403-565-2000. Please leave your name and number attending.
TUESDAY, MARCH 25
• Empress & District Historical Society AGM 7:00 PM Empress Friendship Centre. New members welcome.
SATURDAY, MAY 10
• Empress & District Fine Arts, Cultural and Leisure Society Plant & Pie Sale 10:00 AM2:00 PM. Empress Community Hall.
• Empress Community Yard Sales 9:00 AM3:00 PM. More than 10 families! Don’t miss it!
- Game Night Saturdays at 6:00 PM at the Community Hall. Come join us for a night of fun and excitement. Play games and hang out with friends and family.
- Classic Movie Night every Tuesday at the Empress Community Hall at 7:00 PM. Bring your blanket & lawn chair. Popcorn, chips, candy, pop, water and hotdogs available in the canteen! Free Admission. A different classic film each week. Sponsored by Em-
press & District Fine Arts, Culture and Leisure Society.
OYEN
UNTIL MARCH 23
• Badlands Badgers annual online auction. Located on Facebook page “Badlands Badgers Online Auction”
FRIDAY, MARCH 21
• Fun Night for Members and their Guests at Oyen and District Seniors Recreation Centre 7:00 to Midnight. Games and Socializing. Bring Snacks. Call Beth 403 664 2462 for more information.
THURSDAY, MARCH 27
• Dry Country Gas Co-op Ltd. AGM 1:00 PM at the back shop. Acadia Valley, Cereal and Esther are up for election.
FRIDAY, MARCH 28
• Oyen United Church Soup and Sandwich 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM. Adults $15, Kids 6-12 $5, under 6 Free.
MONDAY, MARCH 31
• Acadia Seed Processing Plant Annual Meeting 2:00 PM in the AFSC meeting room.
to place as many events as possible, but closer dates will take priority. Please support the businesses that advertise in this newspaper. Without them, this publication would not be possible!
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2
• Oyen Lodge with Town of Oyen Library present Del Pratt, Author and Cowboy Poet! 7:00 PM Oyen Lodge dining area. Book signing and cowboy poetry.
TUESDAY, APRIL 8
• Oyen & District Curling Club AGM 7:00 PM. All members are encouraged to attend. FRIDAY, APRIL 18
• Ecumanical Good Friday Service held at Oyen Evangelical Missionary Church at 11:00 AM. All are welcome.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 7
• Regular Pot Luck and Meeting for the Oyen and District Seniors (50+) at Oyen and District Seniors Recreation Centre. Pot Luck at 6:00 PM and Meeting at 7:00 PM. Call Lynda 403-664-0908 or Beth 403-6642462 for further information.
- Oyen Town Council meet 2nd Tuesday of every month 6:00 PM in Council Chambers. - Community Choir every Wednesday at 7:00 PM in the Evangelical Missionary Church. The choir will perform at the Ecumanical Good Friday Service on April 18th.
Board Members in the picture: Standing (L-R): Joe Lazzari, Kevin McBain, Linda Lockhart, Lynda Grudecki, Delaine Volk, Clinton Steinley, Shelaine Woods (BCH Site Manager); Sitting (L-R): Tanya Jaques, Tami Cox and Muriel Martin. Missing: Lee Switzer
