Times Contributor    

 

Pink Shirts were seen all over East Wheatland and across Alberta on Feb. 27. Pink Shirt Day is becoming a worldwide event to bring awareness to bullying and its impact on people.

Principal Karen Smith at Standard School said, “every year more students and staff are participating in Pink Shirt Day at Standard School which speaks strongly about the school’s culture of acceptance and intolerance of bullying.”

Children from Grades 1 through 12 (boys and girls) along with their teachers wore many shades of pink to take part in the day.

Bullying comes in all shapes and sizes and it has infiltrated all aspects of society. People have been bullied since the dawn of time but the impacts have become greater and greater. People are bullied in the workplace, in relationships, in families and schools. 

Bullies use their words, their actions and all forms of media available to them. One sad thing is that bullies need to bully due to issues of power and control and low self esteem for themselves. In order to feel good about themselves or make themselves look better their need to “bring someone else down” becomes more and more prevalent.

The original event was organized by David Shepherd and Travis Price of Berwick, Nova Scotia, who bought and distributed 50 pink shirts after a male ninth grade student was bullied for wearing a pink shirt during his first day of school. Since then awareness has been brought to the forefront.

As of late the biggest problem in our society with regards to bullying has come through the various forms of mass media in our computer age of Facebook, Twitter and the availability of media to students through iPods, iPhones and Blackberrys.

Kudos to everyone, especially the schools in our communities for wearing pink and making the awareness of bullying and its impact on our society and kids a priority.

Laureen F. Guenther  

Times Contributor    

 

Two years ago, Brooklyn Davidson, a Strathmore Grade 11 student, had a brilliant idea: to host a concert showcasing the talent of students at SHS, and raise money to make a positive difference somewhere in the world. Davidson organized the first concert, and it was so successful, the Me to We Club made it an annual event. When Davidson graduated in 2012, she passed the baton to Mariah Wilson, now in Grade 12.

During this school year, Wilson explains, the Me to We Club has designated all of its fundraising to build a classroom in the Osenetoi Primary School in Osenetoi, Kenya. Hoping to raise $4,000 this year, the club has already raised $1,000 through a Penny Drive in November.

On Friday, March 1, they held this year’s benefit concert. It was accompanied by a silent auction, to which Strathmore artists Alecia Demott and John McElroy, as well as many local businesses -- The Station, Wal-Mart, The Laugh Shop, Orange Julius, Booster Juice, NV Hair & Body Studio, The Bank Athletic Club, Domino’s Pizza, The Red Carrot, Home Hardware, Target Fitness and Agrium – made generous donations.

More than 100 people attended, and the event raised $2,100. 

“All of the support from the community was overwhelming,” said Wilson.

The program line-up was impressive -15 individual students and three musical groups - and Wilson said, “the concert went very well.” 

“Kylie Breault and Colten McMahon’s rendition of the song ‘Little Talks’ by Monsters & Men; Richard Yao’s original song titled ‘Cloud’; the hilarious dialogue from our emcees Carlee MsIsaac and Jenna Mohamed,” were highlights of the show said Wilson. 

Concertgoers also appreciated a speech by Grade 11 student Paige Rist, about her experience working in Osenetoi last summer.

“Most people said every act was fantastic and that the whole evening was a night to remember,” said Wilson. “We heard lots of positive comments after the concert. Many people asked if they could buy a recording of the concert on a disk because the performances were so well done.”

Personally, Wilson says, “my favourite part of the evening was seeing the audience and performers genuinely enjoying themselves.”

She also enjoyed the satisfaction of a job well done. 

“As the organizer, it was a relief that all of the Me To We Club’s hard work had paid off in an evening enjoyed by all who attended,” she says.

This year’s benefit concert may be over, but fundraising and concern for Osenetoi Primary School continues. The club plans a few more fundraisers in the spring, possibly including a 30-hour famine and a necklace sale.

Those who missed the concert are still welcome to support it. 

“If anyone wishes to donate they can contact (our teacher) Ms. Magill at 403-934-3135,” said Wilson/

They can also take comfort in Wilson’s assurance: “We will definitely be organizing the benefit concert again next year.”

 

Times Contributor    

 

Staff Sergeant James McLaren, currently posted at the Gleichen detachment, received a RCMP Commissioners’ Commendation for Bravery in February 2013. The award is given for demonstrating outstanding courage in the face of extremely dangerous and volatile circumstances, not commonly encountered in routine police work and which pose an imminent threat of grievous harm, personal injury, or death. 

“There was a lot of hard work by my members. They truly cared about their community and I could not have served in this way, without their help and support,” said McLaren.

McLaren was born in Edmonton and he enlisted in the RCMP 1993. His first post was Stony Plain, before moving on to Banff. He was promoted to Corporal, teaching several years in Regina RCMP depot. He transferred to Edson, and with a promotion to Sergeant, moved on to the arctic serving in Igloolik, Nunavut. He applied, and was accepted, for his last arctic posting in Cape Dorset, Nunavut. He later moved back to Alberta serving a short time at Calgary RCMP headquarters. He received his promotion to Staff Sergeant and accepted his posting in Gleichen.

McLaren also received a Governor General’s award in Oct. 2012 and a RCMP Commissioners Commendation in Feb 2013, for bravery in dangerous circumstances.  The award was generated by his response to a domestic dispute in 2010, when McLaren was serving in Cape Dorset, Nunavut.

McLaren said it began with a husband getting drunk and running out onto thin ice swearing to kill himself. The officers looking for him were notified of a man running across the ice. It was end of May, when the ice is breaking up and extremely dangerous. McLaren and his partner donned cold weather gear and responded. Through a child interpreter, a hunter pointed to a safe route to reach the man. They commandeered the hunter’s skidoo and approached the man. 

“As soon as we take a step, he takes ten. We tried to call him back, but he keeps going shouting suicidal intentions. We waited hoping he would come back in. Meanwhile, his wife sees him and frantically wants to go get him. We had to restrain her and divert her attention, in case something happened,” said McLaren.

McLaren said he called for a rescue boat, but knew response would be delayed. He told his partner to remain behind with the man’s wife for safety. Meanwhile, the man fell through the ice. McLaren borrowed a seal hook and rope, tied the rope around himself, and slowly crawled out to hook onto the man’s clothing. Just before he reached him, the ice gave way underneath McLaren. Luckily, the wind was blowing the man into shore, or he would have been swept away. The equipment had become useless, but McLaren was able to maneuver to reach him. The boat arrived and they retrieved McLaren and the suicidal man out of the water. They both were left in the boat, McLaren securely restraining the combative man, while a skidoo towed the boat to safe landfall. The patient was hypothermic and both he and McLaren were taken to the hospital for assessment.

McLaren said alcohol is the major contributor to domestic incidents in the community. He said that his service there was rewarding and he would like to return for a visit in the future.

“The people are amazing. It has the most Inuit artisans in North America. The artwork is known worldwide. It is one of the richer communities because of the art. Inuit culture is different from the native culture. Policing is different. It’s like saying, ‘What’s the difference between African and South American culture?’ Inuit are closer to their culture. They are second generation from living off the land. It was a great community. If there was no alcohol in town, we wouldn’t get a call for days,” said McLaren.

 

Fule for Thought

 

There has been a new movement in education to embrace and use technology. Once we did not allow cell phones in class. However, now they can be used for educational purposes. In fact, I have also begun to use technology in reffing PE games. At one time, I used to use the standard plastic whistle. After a few classes of biting on the plastic, your teeth can get pretty sore. I also blame these things for my already wide gap in my teeth growing into a chasm! In fact, when I’m teaching, if I hit the right combinations of the letter “s”… I emit a high whistle noise! Needless to say, my students find this hilarious, and in an earlier column, I mentioned that a few used to write creative stories with as many ”s” words as possible … waiting for the sharp whistle! I DO believe that we developed a stray dog problem at SHS BECAUSE of that high whistle!

Well, I too have now begun to use technology. My new best friend in refereeing PE games is a sleek, red, electronic whistle. It’s the size of a small flashlight and has three different tones. It also has a wrist band so it doesn’t fall. All you have to do, is push a black button and it makes an exact referee’s whistle sound! This has helped protect my teeth, and has surprisingly helped with students who don’t put out much effort in PE classes. Here is how the electronic whistle has helped me. I use the regular tone for refereeing, and a separate higher “trill” to signal my “pylons” to actually move (“pylon” is an endearing name PE teachers sometimes use for students who don’t wish to move in PE and love to stand and chat). Now, whenever I use the second tone, my “pylons” know that they should move a bit more … and talk less. It’s really like conditioning them WITHOUT using high voltage. However, at times I DO wish there was an added tazer feature!

About six years ago, I had a student I’ll call Samantha. Sam did not like to do much in PE class, but visit and chat to anyone near her. In fact, she’s the only student I’ve ever had, who took a cellphone call, playing Right Field in Softball! The hit screamed over her head, and we had to have our own “chat” about paying attention in class. I explained that “good ole Mr.Fule” would rather NOT get sued when the ball hit her RIGHT between the eyes!

I usually drive my van out to the Ag. Society ball diamonds, ever since an accident in another class happened, even BEFORE the game started. Back then, I arrived at the diamonds in time to see one of my PE 30 guys on the ground in obvious pain. He had decided on a dare to jump OFF the dugout roof, only to land on and break his ankle! Since then, I have always driven, even if I AM a short distance from the diamond! 

Fast forward a couple of years to Sam’s class. Bear in mind, that Sam did not move much in our softball games. Driving by Sam and her pals to the diamonds, I slowed to a stop, and lowered the passenger window. I called them over to see a new “classmate.” 

There, riding “shotgun” was a bright Orange pylon buckled in! I had taped the name “Sam” to it, as well as sunglasses, and she and her classmates laughed. However, I wasn’t done yet. Out at the diamonds after we randomly picked teams, I put the “Pylon Sam” at Home base to bat! It stood to the side of the base, and I lay a bat on the ground in front of it. I went to the pitchers’ mound and pitched TO the pylon. When the ball would hit the pylon, I had one of the guys run it to First Base! I even think the PYLON made it “safe” as much as the REAL Sam! When it was time for Sam to play Right Field, I put “Pylon Sam” next to her with a ball glove open and on the ground next to it! That way, if any hits came out there, TWO Sams had a chance to catch the “fly,” even IF only ONE of them was real! I recently ran into the REAL Sam, and we reminisced about those glory days of Softball in PE 30. After we briefly talked, I left wondering if she had kept in contact with her Pylon pal over the years! After all, they WERE once teammates!

(“Fule for Thought” is a slice of life humourous column that appears in the Strathmore Times, written by long-time resident, town councillor, high school teacher, coach, husband and father of two – Pat Fule. If you would like to get in touch with Pat, you can send him an e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )

Shannon LeClair  

Times Reporter

 

For the past few years the band SILO has been building a fan base here in its own community. They play a hard rock style that is hard to find these days but that shows the roots of their musical love.

Everyone listening to the band hears something a little bit different; a Metallica influence is apparent, as are Avenge Sevenfold and Offspring. Vocalist Clay (Cash) Watson said SILO has never wanted to sound like a cookie cutter band. They are happy to hear that their fans can pick out the different mix of bands coming through. They have always strived to sound different for each song, instead of each song sounding like the previous one. 

Last year the band was happy to announce their song Paper Note was being released across Canada to 131 rock stations. This year the good news continues for the band mates.

A publishing company in Vancouver had recently scouted the band, and the rep wanted to see what he could do for the guys at the Midem Music Conference held in France this past January. 

The rep put together a compilation package of SILO’s music and videos and then met with other representatives from music labels, licensing and publishing companies.

“Our music and the quality of our music was so well received over there that he didn’t even have to do follow ups, he already had four of these deals. Basically these deals are placement licensing and publishing deals, and they have some really big backing behind some of these companies like EMI Music, Sony Music, Universal,” said Cash (Clay) Watson. 

“The reason it’s good is really the way you make money in music is through placement/licensing deals. If you think about the grand scope like how big Rock Band is, how many bands came from the Rock Band era? Or you think about movies, growing up I would see a good movie and if you’d love the soundtrack, you would go buy the disc, that’s how you would get to know a band. These companies already have so many TV, movie, commercial opportunities all over Europe.”

Watson said sometimes there are bands that may be looking to buy a song or two to fill their album. By signing on with the publishing/licensing companies new doors and opportunities are being created.  Canada and the United States are both great places to be, but musically right now, Europe is where hard rock is in its glory. 

“We’ve been trying really hard to get into that market and finally found a way in. Also it is going to open up a lot more opportunities in Europe, once they get to know your name then they want you over there playing music. We’re hoping this kind of gives us that bridge to go from here to go over there and hopefully make a living, it’s sort of the first big, big step for that,” said Watson.

“We have to go where our stuff is popular and right now in Europe it’s the place.”

Every year SILO host theirs own music festival called In Our Blood Music Festival. This year the event will be a baseball tournament and concert, which will be held in Lyalta. Leading up to the music festival the band hosts two pre-shows, one in Calgary and one in Strathmore. On March 9 the Strathmore Hotel is sponsoring the 2013 In Our Blood Music Fest and Ball Tournament Pre-Festival event. 

Registration will be open for the ball teams and the bands go on stage beginning at 9:30 p.m. The lineup for the pre-fest includes Devin Peterson, Big T, Head Cobra, SILO and Dunright. 

SILO’s music can be purchased on iTunes or by heading to one of their shows where CD’s are always on sale. For anyone who maybe doesn’t want to download a track or the album, but still wants to hear what the band is all about go to soundcloud.com/silo-1. 

 

Times Contributor

 

Jason Hale, Strathmore-Brooks MLA, held open houses throughout Wheatland County last week, fielding concerns and gathering issues to present to the Alberta Government that opens on March 4, 2013.

Strathmore was the last stop on the tour, and Hale opened up on Conservative spending habits at the Feb. 25 visit.

“We don’t have a revenue problem,” said Hale. “We have a spending problem.”

In response, the Wildrose party developed a10-year debt free capital spending plan, to provide infrastructure and programs without incurring huge debt. Alberta currently spends over a third more per person than any other province on infrastructure, and has used up a $17 billion sustainability fund. 

Wildrose wants to create a sustainability fund that would generate $48 billion, issued evenly over a 10 year duration. The plan would prioritize projects, under predefined publically disclosed categories of: Provincial transportation networks, schools, Health Care, equipment, and other Government facilities. 

The funds would be supplied by taking 10 per cent of provincial tax revenue and 10 per cent of tax surpluses and giving it directly to municipalities. Money would not be obtained by grant process, but by a program called Community Infrastructure Transfer. By generating and releasing funds in this way, communities could plan for education and infrastructure needs over a period of time, rather than adjusting to a boom or bust economic budget. It includes a plan to deliver $638 million on health facilities in 2013-14 and over $7.6 billion on such projects over the next decade.

Hale said Wildrose supports municipal charters, which would supply funds directly to municipal governments. However, audience members asked whether all the money would go to urban centres, leaving rural needs unmet. Hale responded that rural municipalities would not be getting any less than they currently do under the Municipal Sustainability Initiative. With the surplus grant, money would increase by 10 per cent. The process would be monitored to ensure adequate funding for rural municipalities stay in place.

Hale said the Wildrose Party examined all the ways the Conservatives have been wasting money. The party called for a referendum to roll back the MLA pay raises, rather than making budget cuts to public services, however the proposal was voted down by the Conservative majority.

“How can you force these cuts when you just gave yourself a raise,” said Hale about MLA’s enjoying increases in their salaries.

Wildrose will continue to fight for wage roll backs and encourage the development of a wage increase policy based on the yearly inflation rate. Hale said Alberta Health Services board executives spent $100 million on expense account expenditures in a short 17 months.

“That would go a long way to improving front line health care in the province,” Hale said.

He likened the expense account program to a funnel that was tipped upside down, with huge amounts going in the top and little trickling out to the necessary services below. Hale said Wildrose wants to turn that funnel over.

The audience gave a resounding shout of ‘no’, when asked if they wanted a sales tax for Alberta. One listener said that this was Alberta and that having no sales tax is what makes Alberta stand out.

Other issues such as education and programs for rural areas, dealing with the CN, keeping the Wheatland ambulance, gaining grandparents access to children involved in custody battles, pharmacy cutbacks, and seniors and low income support were discussed.

“We need to find a balance to inform the people about what is going on and be active in the checks and balances,” said Hale. “We are the party in waiting, so we need to come up with good ideas, so I encourage you to give us your input.”

 

Times Contributor

 

The Youth Club of Strathmore has been the victim of several unfortunate events, and they would like to get rid of all the negative assumptions that come with their name.

Graffiti, the skate park, previous programs, and illegal activities have all contributed to the negative view that some people have of the youth club.

“We are trying to break away from this mold and define ourselves as a different program,” said Shannon Zieman, Program Director at the youth club.

“We are asking the community to please not paint us with a negative brush when you have not taken the time to find out who we really are and the efforts we are making to provide our youth with a fun and safe place to be.”

Along with newspaper articles, e-mails and generally getting the word out, the Youth Club has changed their offered programs, gotten lights put up around the skate park, installed security cameras and alarms and even advocated for more policing of the area.

“We are caught up in a whirlwind of false assumptions,” said Colina Clark, Program Coordinator. “We are faced with the challenge of finding an identity of our own, separate from the previous circumstances.”

With new programs that include focus on children and pre-teens, and supervised leader roles for teenagers, Clark says that the Youth Club is providing a “positive investment in our youth.” They hope to support and encourage youth in Strathmore to develop confidence, self-esteem and personal skill development.

“We are community members who strive to better and strengthen our community. We were built and are driven by families,” said Clark.

“We are part of the community. We will prosper with the support of the community.”

If you are looking for more information about the Youth Club of Strathmore, please visit http://youthclubofstrathmore.ca.

 

Times Contributor

 

Bob’s great-grandfather moved from Ireland to Ontario in the mid-1800’s. His grandfather homesteaded at Poplar Point, Manitoba where Bob’s father was born. In 1932, while Bob’s Dad was working in Joliet, Illinois – Bob was born, the oldest of three children – a brother and a sister were born later, following his parents move to Oakville, Manitoba.

At the outset of The Korean War in 1952, Bob joined the Lord Strathcona Horse, which was actually a Tank Regiment and was posted to Korea. Tragically, his brother who was serving with the PPCLI was killed in Korea, the same year Bob arrived.

Dorothy’s grandfather was born in Wellington County in Ontario in 1860, and moved to Sunningdale, Saskatchewan where he lived and brought up his family until he died in 1935. Dorothy was born here on the farm in 1936, the third of four children. She has two brothers and a sister. In 1947, the family moved to a farm near Penhold, Alberta.

Following the Korean War, Bob returned to Red Deer and re-established his friendship with Dorothy whom he’d met before going to Korea. They were married on November 3, 1955. This marriage produced two sons and two daughters, and they now have 11 grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. 

Bob has worked in construction all his life. After their marriage, they moved to Calgary so that Bob could attend S.A.I.T. While in Calgary they lived in Forest Lawn, but apart from this they have always lived on acreages, where Bob built two of the houses. And Dorothy was happy to be able to have her beloved horses again. In 1961 Bob joined CJ Oliver Construction where he worked for 13 years, rising to the position of Construction Superintendent. In 1974, he moved to Cascade Construction in the same position. His main forte was the construction of high-rise office and residential towers. Some of the buildings he was involved in building are well known – the South YMCA, Woodman Junior High School, Mount Royal House, the Suncore Building, Norcen Tower, Rose Kahn Arena and Mayfair Place.

When he completed the Norcen and Suncore buildings in 1970, they were the second and third highest buildings in downtown Calgary, at the time. Look at the high-rise buildings in downtown Calgary, now! In 1986, while the construction bust was happening across the country, with interest rates soaring to 20 per cent and beyond, Bob and Dorothy moved to Strathmore. Up until 1993, Bob worked with his son Bob Jr framing houses, and he also worked with various construction companies in and around Strathmore before retiring in 2008. He assisted in the building of the recent extension at Strathmore Legion #10. As a long time member of The United Church of Canada, he soon put his construction skills to work with the Property Team at Strathmore United Church, where he was responsible for building maintenance. 

In the meantime, Dorothy was not idle. She spent many years working in craft stores, as a nanny, and at one time was the daycare cook for up to 110 children. Since moving to Strathmore, she has worked with children at The Crisis Shelter, spent eight years working at The Toddle Inn Daycare, and served as a nanny for nine years with the Smail Family while they were in the RCMP. She has served on many different committees and projects with Strathmore United Church, and is a member of the Quilting Group and UCW. 

She and Bob both enjoy gardening, their family and friends, and their country home with its wonderful views west to the mountains.

The main changes they have seen in this area include the increases in the number of acreages, highway traffic, and population in and around Strathmore. They are concerned with the loss of businesses in downtown, as some businesses are moving closer to the highway.

 

Times Contributor   

 

When gray winter clouds hang low day after day, and it’s so cold we don’t want to go outside, we may feel the onset of the winter blues.

Rob Van Dyke, psychologist and clinical supervisor at the Strathmore Mental Health Clinic, says the winter blues are pretty common for Canadians. In fact, 15 per cent of us have a mild case at some point in our lives.

The winter blues may bring changes in our mood, so we feel sad or hopeless, Van Dyke says. We may have less energy and be easily fatigued. Some of us experience appetite changes, perhaps craving sweet and starchy foods. 

We may be bothered by weight gain, sleep disturbances, and difficulty concentrating. We may have less interest in sex or want to avoid social encounters altogether.

For most of us, the blues remain mild, lasting only until the sun comes out or the world warms up. But for two to three per cent of us, Van Dyke says, the blues last longer than a couple of weeks and /or begin to interfere with our daily routines. In that case, we might have Seasonal Affective Disorder which Van Dyke says is, “a diagnosable depression that has a seasonal pattern.” 

No one is exactly sure what brings on the blues, Van Dyke says, but most theories suggest it’s due to reduced sunlight. 

“As human beings, we depend upon sunlight,” he says, so less light seems, for some people, “to decrease mood and decrease energy levels.” 

Sunlight also produces Vitamin D, and we may become Vitamin D deficient.

It may also be because we’re programmed ourselves to revolve around day and night. 

“Less daylight and more darkness,” Van Dyke says, “could be signalling our bodies to want to sleep more and to hibernate.”

He points out that less light and colder temperatures also affect our behaviour. 

“We aren’t as prone to want to go out and take a walk outside or jog outside. We might instead choose to curl up and sit on the couch and be less active.” 

That’s not necessarily a bad thing to do, “but exercise is a natural anti-depressant.”

Fortunately, although we can’t do much about our climate, we can do a lot to treat the winter blues. 

“The most important thing to emphasize,” Van Dyke says, “is to get more sunlight in the day,” which can be as simple as taking a 20 minute walk. “If it’s too cold to be outside, open the curtains. Sit in the chair near the window.”

“The second biggest thing is exercise,” he says, “being intentional about...setting up my day so that I do get outside for a little bit each day, so that I do exercise.”

It’s also important to keep regular eating and sleeping patterns, he says, not “over-sleeping or under-sleeping, getting a good amount of sleep each night.”

Since “social isolation is a common symptom of a depressed mood,” said Van Dyke, we also need to be intentional “about surrounding themselves with people (we) enjoy.”

“These are things that have been proven to really generate positive momentum for people,” said Van Dyke. Those small steps can have a big impact.

But for some people, these steps aren’t enough. For people who are “feeling a prolonged depressed mood, with sadness, or feelings of hopelessness or despair,” Van Dyke says, “and/or if they’ve had major disruptions to their appetite or sleep patterns and certainly if they’re having thoughts of suicide” he encourages them to seek out the help of professionals.

His first suggestion is to contact a family doctor, who may provide medication and light therapy. He also invites people who are concerned about their mood to contact the Strathmore Mental Health Clinic through the Rural Addiction and Mental Health Intake Line at 1-877-652-4700.

“If they feel they’re having those symptoms, and they feel they’d be helped by counseling or therapy, they’re certainly welcome to call,” he said.

It’s also important to understand that feeling ups and downs is normal, Van Dyke says. It’s “part of what it means to be human....I hope people would not feel any shame in that.”

 

Times Contributor   

 

Expectant Strathmore mothers currently must make the trek to Calgary or Drumheller to deliver their babies, they are not permitted to deliver at Strathmore Hospital. Locally, they may receive prenatal care until their babies are about 20 weeks gestation, then they’ll be referred to a Calgary maternity clinic for support until their babies are born. 

They may take prenatal classes through local public health at any time during their pregnancies.

Nurse and midwife Amy Deagle has been concerned that Strathmore women aren’t always served adequately by the pre-scheduled prenatal classes. If they or their spouses work out of town, such as on the oil rigs, or are in seasonal work like farming, they can’t necessarily attend the classes at the times they’re offered.

Deagle says, “I was frustrated by the fact that women living in rural areas did not have the same access to care that women in the city did.” 

Deagle, has worked as a nurse and midwife in Alberta, Alaska, New Hampshire, Wisconsin and British Columbia. 

“I believe that women and couples need the education, information and support...so that they can make confident, informed choices in the best interests for themselves and their families,” said Deagle.

With these concerns in mind, Deagle recently launched Expecting Success. She explains that the new company offers online support, education and information for women during preconception, pregnancy and early parenthood.

Before conception --- in the stage that Expecting Success calls “Baby Talk” – Deagle and her staff offer online support & education. During pregnancy -- the “Baby Bump” stage -- women and couples can contact Expecting Success for pregnancy support and information, and for in-person or online prenatal classes. During Baby Steps -- the early stages of parenting -- Expecting Success provides parenting support & information.

All across Canada, Deagle says, women and couples can receive information online and via telephone from Expecting Success’s RN Consultants. Additionally, in the communities where the RN Consultants are based, expectant women and couples can arrange for in-person prenatal care, consultation and education. They can also access individual or group prenatal classes, scheduled to fit into their lives and tailored to provide the information they need.

In Strathmore, Deagle said, “there is a local Expecting Success RN Consultant, Sara Phillips, who will provide the online maternity and parenting support as well as offer private & group prenatal classes.”

Deagle believes the services offered by Expecting Success will make a significant difference for rural Canadian women and couples. 

“Knowing that they have a medical professional that they can email for advice or schedule a call with,” she says, “should decrease stress and increase the empowerment of parents.”

To learn more or to contact Expecting Success, see www.expectingsuccessinc.com.