Times Reporter

 

Cancer is still a scary word, and has affected almost everyone in one way or another. Thanks to the continued support and outpouring of donations made globally every year, the fight against cancer is getting stronger. 

After being personally affected by cancer in some way or another, five local men are training to participate in the ride to conquer cancer.  Colin Lenox, Chris Iversen, Wes Lewis, Armand Pinel, and Strathmore High School student Jonah Zankl are preparing for the ride, which begins June 23. 

“I got involved after I had several students pass away, some friends and my father finally passed away from prostate cancer, and caused me to want to find something to do to number one lessen my chance of getting it, which exercise is a great way for men to decrease their chance of prostate cancer,” said Lenox.

“This just came up, and I saw it one day and said ‘yeah I want to do that and started doing it.’” 

“I’m pretty much the same, I have a couple of family members that have battled cancer and lost to cancer. Colin and I both teaching in the same school, we’ve seen the same students pass away too, so it’s something that’s hit us,” said Iversen.

Cancer is a widespread disease, and thanks to certain cancers being in the spotlight, such as breast cancer, the publicity and support have made it a very treatable thanks to early detection and knowledge. 

“I think if we can start doing the same thing for a variety of other cancers, prostate cancer, everything else, by putting the funds into it we can maybe get the word out,” said Lenox.

“We can also have a lot of, basically the research done…who knows. It might be 2012’s ride that raises just enough money that the right mixture in a test tube happens and we’ve got it.” 

Lenox and Lewis participated in the ride last year. It is the first year for the other three members of the team. The ride spans two days, and over 200 kilometres. Lenox said in 2011 there were 2,300 riders, with $8.6 million raised. He would like to see that number reach $12 million this year.

“I just knew in the first 20 minutes this wasn’t going to be a one time thing, it was going to keep happening. You see the people with the yellow flags, they’re the cancer survivors, and you get a chance to ride next to them and talk to them, and the inspiration is amazing,” said Lenox.

“It really truly is inspiring in every way, you don’t just have to ride. It’s challenging, but it’s designed to be that way. It’s designed to make you put out at least a little bit towards what some loved one, or some child, that’s sitting in the Alberta Children’s Hospital having chemo right now is going through. That’s what this whole thing is about, it’s so cool it truly is, I can’t say enough about it.

“This is what it is all about, people banding together to support each other. Why am I doing it? Because there is somebody out there who can’t. That’s what we’re doing it for, because that kid who is in the Children’s Hospital or that person that is undergoing chemo or radiation therapy right now, maybe I am going to be riding next to them next year, that’s the cool part.” 

“To quote others that have said it, they say the pain that we go through on the ride is nothing compared to what someone fighting cancer goes through anyways,” said Iversen.  

Riding and donating are not the only ways people can help out. By going to conquercancer.ca people can look into becoming a member for some of the support teams.

Many people are needed to help put everything together; they need motorcycle riders who ride ahead of the pack and make sure it is safe for the riders, there are people riding in vans to pick up people who are maybe cramping, rest station help, people to set up the tents at the main camp. 

The five men have a combined goal of raising a minimum of $13,200 and to date have raised $7,779.45. To donate to the team go to www.conquercancer.ca and look for team Prairie Winds. Otherwise, you can donate to an individual rider by entering their name into the search bar. 

Times Reporter

 

Different schemes to get your money have been taking place for centuries, and over time have evolved to fit the times. These days more and more scams are taking place through online sources, such as Kijiji. The company Kijiji itself, and others like it, are not to blame, as they will ban a person when they find out, however, all the person would have to do is get a new IP address to be back in business. 

“That’s a common theme, we’ve seen it here, it’s kind of the explosion of Kijiji and the Internet and all that,” said Sgt. Kevin Reilly with the Strathmore RCMP.

“Recently, and I mean in the last two months I’ve probably seen different files here that are exactly that. They say, oh I’m selling $100,000 trailer and fifth wheel and this guy calls up and says absolutely I’ll pay it but I need $1,000 to fix my truck and I don’t have that, could you send me the $1,000 and then I could drive down there and pick that up, and so they do. It’s like if he doesn’t have the $1,000 where is he coming up with the $100,000?”

Scams such as this are becoming more and more common, and some of the people perpetuating them have even been using a fake Paypal page as a way to try to convince people to send money. 

The Paypal page will say the money is there in your account, but it has a hold on it, which means you still need to send the money to be able to access the money. It’s not very logical, but there are instances where people not knowing any better have sent the money requested. 

“Anything that says you’ll get this if you send us this much money, you’re almost guaranteed that it’s not true. If there’s anything from out of the country I would suggest that you probably really think about it,” said Reilly. 

“I would be very cautious about anything on Kijiji where you’re sending money in any regard, whether it’s you buying something or you trying to sell something. If you’re trying to sell something then why are you sending money, if they are giving away things for free why are you sending money?”

Most of us have seen those Ally Bank Commercials, especially the one where the man (banker) offers a pony and one girl gets a real one, and the other gets a toy one. He then blames it on the one girl for not asking if she was getting a real pony. Reilly said some of the schemes may not even fall under fraud and encourages buyer beware thinking from people.  

“Really is it a fraud if I say I’m going to send you this car but you’ve got to give me $1,000 and then I send you a matchbox car. I haven’t lied, you just thought it was a real car,” said Reilly. 

“It’s partly a buyer beware, but it’s also partly common sense and knowing does this make sense.”

For bigger purchases, such as a new car or a fifth wheel, which could likely be rather expensive purchases, usually no more than a deposit is asked for and Reilly doesn’t believe it would be more than $1,000. 

When picking up the vehicle, then the rest of the money would be paid, and Reilly said if someone else is picking it up then it is best to get a confirmation that you are getting what you wanted before releasing the rest of the money. 

“There are things you can do to protect yourself, if you think something is strange it probably is. If it is too good to be true, it probably is,” said Reilly.

“If you’re in doubt, speak to your family and friends and see what they think, and then if no one really knows then maybe call us. There are other ways to figure it out, don’t try and do it yourself.”

Other popular schemes are the ones where someone is offering to give away an animal, say a dog, but they are in Africa and need money sent to them to be able to send you your new pet.  The people can be convincing and may even have ‘family photos’ with the pet. 

Another popular scam that is getting a new twist is the home speaker scam. Years ago people would drive around with useless, cheap, speakers in the back of their vehicle. The speakers would be dressed up in a box promoting a high quality product. The people in the vehicle would then approach someone and make up some excuse as to why they need to get rid of these speakers, and how the person they are talking to is getting such a great deal if they buy them for only a couple hundred dollars. Projection Televisions have mostly replaced the speakers but the game is still the same, it is a scam. 

Times Contributor

 

Like all immigrants coming to Canada, Doris and George’s roots originated in Europe. Their forefathers came to this country to make a better life for their families. Doris’ grandfather, Axel Lindman, was born in Sweden and emigrated first to the U.S., then to the Sylvan Lake area, where he homesteaded in 1900. Her maternal grandparents, the Deerings and Frischs originated in Bessarabia. On arriving in Canada in the 1920’s, they were sent to Hilda, near Medicine Hat. The country of Bessarabia has been renamed ‘Moldova’ and can be found on current maps south and west of Ukraine. Doris was born in Red Deer in 1951, and  has one brother living on Vancouver Island.

George, an only child, was born at Rabbit Lake, Sask in 1941. His paternal family was also born in Bessarabia, and moved first to the U.S., then Canada. Originally, George’s family surname was ‘Bischoff’ but it was changed to ‘Bishop’ when they entered the U.S.

Around this time, there was a land agent called Emil Greisbach, who was responsible for bringing many Europeans to S.E. Alberta, where he sold them land. Coincidentally, Doris and George live on Greisbach Street in Gleichen.

Doris became a teacher in 1978, and taught all grades except kindergarten. She taught at High River, Strathmore, Standard, Hussar, Arrowwood and Gleichen over 30 years. She also became proficient in music and religious study courses, which stood her well throughout life, when she taught Sunday School and served on church boards. 

George advised the most gratifying job that he ever had was his service with the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps, where he specialized in heavy lift operations. After his discharge he attended SAIT, where he took a heavy duty mechanics course before opening his own Auto Body Shop in North Battleford. Later in life, he joined the exodus from Saskatchewan to Alberta, where he worked in the Priddis area, southwest of Calgary for 10 years. This is where he met Doris, and they were married in 2003 in Belize. From previous marriages, they have two daughters and a son. 

Following retirement in 2005, they moved to Gleichen, where they have really got involved with different groups. They were approached soon after they moved, by Ivy Bogstie (see March 9, 2012 article), who asked for their assistance in  refurbishing the Field of Honour. Assistance for this project was provided by Wheatland County. Following this, they repaired the WW1 Cenotaph, originally completed in 1919, and built of granite from Quebec. Then they raised the necessary funds, to construct a new WW2 Cenotaph. Both honour members of First Nations, who also served in both World Wars.

The past history of Gleichen was revisited in 2010, when the town celebrated its Centennial. Visitors came from across Canada to take part in the celebration. Earlier, Doris had created a monthly column in the local paper called “And, that’s a Gleichen Fact”. Her column was greatly enjoyed by readers across Canada, who used it to find people who had been former residents.

“Communities in Bloom” is a Canada-wide competition for small towns and villages. With Doris at the helm, Gleichen has become a well-respected participant Doris has served on The Fall Fair Board for a number of years. As this event is mainly for women, she had George organize a Show and Shine for the men, and both are held in late August. Doris spends many hours completing application forms for grants to finance projects for the AG Society, the Community Centre, Gleichen in Bloom, and other projects.

Currently, Doris is helping George recover from open heart surgery, which took place in early March. They are both recognized for their volunteer spirit in this area.

 

Time Reporter

 

On March 26 Southern California humour columnist George Waters wrote a not-so-humourous column. That day Waters wrote in his blog, the WA blog, that he had found 42 examples of plagiarism affecting him and 14 other writers from this past year. 

The person accused of allegedly plagiarizing these works is Steve Jeffrey, editor/publisher of the Chestermere Anchor. Jeffrey is also the current president of the Strathmore and District Chamber of Commerce. 

The next day Jeffrey resigned from his position as editor and was quoted in the Calgary Herald as saying “I really don’t have any way to defend myself. I did use articles for inspiration, but thought that I had changed the content enough to comply.”

Dennis Merrell, Executive Director for the Alberta Weekly Newspaper Association (AWNA) said they are gratified to see that Jeffrey acted swiftly in resigning as editor of the paper, and has also resigned from his position on the board of directors for the Alberta Weekly Newspaper Association.

Merrell said he has not spoken with Jeffrey, but said he did receive an e-mail from him stating that he is resigning while the issue is ongoing, which suggests to him that Jeffrey is taking some responsibility.

“Obviously the association does not condone plagiarizing newspaper columns, or columns from blogs or from any source for that matter, it’s just not something that we support, or encourage,” said Merrell.

“Until our board considers the issues I can’t really say anything much more other than the fact that it’s a serious issue for us, and we were certainly disheartened over the fact that one of our member newspapers has found itself in this position and certainly not something that we would support or condone in any way, shape, or form.”

Waters has opted to file a formal complaint against the Anchor with the Alberta Press Council.

“I do not know what powers of censure they have, but they should definitely be made aware of the depth of the ethics violations of their member paper. Litigation is expensive, and cross-border litigation probably even more so,” said Waters.

“Mr. Jeffrey has resigned as editor, but if he remains involved with “The Anchor” as publisher, or in any other substantial way, I think the writers, as a group, might reconsider that cost. Judging by his bio, Mr. Jeffrey has had several careers, and it’s my hope he moves on from this experience in publishing and finds his next one, soon.”

Sheila Moss, also a humour columnist from Tennessee, allegedly had 25 of her works plagiarized by Jeffrey. 

“If there is a lesson that should be learned here, it is that just because something is funny or on the Internet doesn’t mean it is free for the taking. The same laws that protect other creative works, also protect humor,” said Moss.

“People who call themselves writers and then steal the works of others not only destroy their own reputation and credibility, they embarrass our profession and are judged harshly for it.”

The most recent article plagiarized was ‘It’s a social media world’ in the March 22 paper, was allegedly originally written by Sheila Moss. Before posting his on his blog last Monday, Waters sent a list of comparison links to Andrew Beaujon at Poynter.org in order to have a different pair of eyes verify his findings. 

Waters doesn’t know how long the alleged plagiarism has been happening since he could only find archives going back one year. Shortly after Waters posted his column on Jeffrey, he states all back issue archives of the Anchor were removed from public view. 

Times Reporter

 

After council defeated a motion to track city status expenses, residents were upset, thinking there was something to hide.  

At the March 12 meeting Councillor Dave Hamilton made a motion to track all costs associated with the research and process to change from town status to city status. This doesn’t include the hourly wages for administration to conduct the research process as this cost falls within the parameters of their day-to-day duties and responsibilities. 

“That was my original position, was that all costs should be tracked and the reason for that was because it’s been mentioned be members of this council that this would be a minimal cost,” said Councillor Bob Sobol. 

“Well in order to find out if it was a minimal cost or not I felt, and still do, that all costs including staff wages should be included in the tracking process.”

Sobol said he doesn’t feel including the simple operational costs will give the real picture on how much the process is really costing. 

“This council is not hiding anything, the fact of the matter is that as the motion is asking for the cost of staff’s time to write this out and put this together is part of their daily work hours and therefore I don’t believe that it belongs in here,” said Councillor Earl Best. 

Best feels any other costs involved certainly need to be tracked. Mayor Steve Grajczyk has also heard from people that council is trying to hide something.

“This is just clarifying the fact that we are not trying to hide anything. I thought it was clear enough last week, or the week before, that we didn’t want administration’s time tracked, it’s impossible to track, we would have to get a tracker for the tracker,” said Grajczyk.

Anything within the normal realm of administration’s hours will not be tracked, but any time beyond their eight hours will be. The motion was carried 6-1 with Sobol voting against it. Sobol is still in favour of the tracking, but would like to see administration’s time tracked as well. There will be an open house held at 7 p.m. on May 10 at Civic Centre.  

Traffic enforcement 

Strathmore RCMP Staff Sgt. Larry Marzinzik spoke to council about an enhanced traffic enforcement proposal he would like to implement on a trial basis. The idea would be for the town and the RCMP to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to provide enhanced enforcement similar to what Chestermere currently has. 

In Chestermere a yearly budget of $125,000 is used to pay-off duty RCMP officers for extra traffic enforcement in targeted areas. 

Marzinzik was requesting a six-month to one-year pilot project, with funding of $4,000 per month. The officers assigned to the extra enforcement would focus solely on the traffic assignment allowing them to complete any paperwork that arises from it by the completion of their shift. 

The goal would be to target any areas the public and/or council are concerned with. Discussion of the proposal was accepted as information, with only Councillor Bob Sobol in favour of drawing up an MOU right away.  

 

Times Reporter

 

The Mayor and Councillor code of ethics and conduct policy was brought forward to council for approval with a few amendments. 

The policy is to ensure that council and the Mayor avoid situations where public perception may be that they have used their position to gain a personal or pecuniary benefit. 

According to clause 2.9, Council and the Mayor are not to apply for employment within the town, or to seek a service to supply contract. 

In clause 3.3.7 it is written that it is the sole responsibility of the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) to hire, discipline, and terminate staff. The clause also states that no member of council, either as an individual or as a group, shall interfere with the CAO’s role by way of coercion, persuasion, or any form of influence. 

Councillor Earl Best was not in agreement with clause 2.9 and said even if a councillor were to apply for a job with the town, they would still be subject to the interviews and other criteria any other applicant would face. 

Best admits to having applied for a job with the town, and said though he did not get it he has no animosity towards administration. 

“When we came on to council there was nothing saying we could not apply for a job with the town, in that case I would like to see this particular part (2.9) of this pulled from here and maybe brought back the week before the next election,” said Best. 

“I don’t have any mistrust or misgivings about Councillor Best at all, but I’m wondering why we would want to grandfather it, or delay it, when the policy is actually morally right and the public is waiting for us to make a decision like this,” said Councillor Pat Fule. 

Fule said he has spoken to couple of councillors in Canmore who were surprised to hear that Strathmore did not have such a policy in place. 

Though Best agreed with the rest of council that a code of ethics and conducts policy is needed, he said clause 2.9 is an issue of contention with him, and therefore he would not vote in favour of it.  

Councillor Rocky Blokland said he agrees with Best on some of his comments, Blokland thinks clause 2.9 should be added. 

“We have elections every three years, you put your name in, you run for council as either a new councillor or one coming back from previous council. I think at that point in time you have to make a decision, if you’re going to be successful as a councillor that’s what you should be, without trying to apply for positions within the town of Strathmore. I just don’t think the two should be mixed up,” said Blokland. 

Council approved the policy, with amendments. 

 

Times Reporter

 

The Strathmore and District Agricultural Society welcomed a new president, if not a new face, earlier this year. Carolyn Johnson has been involved with the Ag Society for years as the Vice-President, a director, and a committee head for the grandstands. It was on Jan. 1 when she accepted her new role, and she has been looking at ways to help make the Ag Society even better. 

“My major thing is get more youth involved,” said Johnson. 

“We need more help. The rodeo bunch is getting to be older people and we call it, we need more bones in the seats.”

Her first objective is bringing in more youth, whether it’s to help with Heritage Days, or as spectators. Johnson’s second objective is to have the grounds used more, outside of Heritage Days activities. 

“As president you got to look at all the areas, you have to have things for family, you have to use the grounds more, we have a campground too,” said Johnson. 

Heritage Days is the main focus at this point. August is coming up fast, and work has already begun for obtaining sponsorship and getting volunteers on board. 

“It takes a lot of work, we’ve got a great bunch of volunteers and then the directors and vice president get involved. Then we have a general manager and a secretary in the office that do a lot of work and a lot of prep to getting that rodeo going,” said Johnson.

This year, due to an unexpected cancellation from the midway, there is an added scramble to find new entertainment to fill the gap. The Ag Society is looking for suggestions from the community on how to fill the space.    

Time Contributor

 

Some of the rural fire departments were concerned that the Fire Capital and Operating funds were held by the county.

Staff clarified that five Associations were paid but Cluny, Gleichen, Rockyford and Standard Associations still had some missing information to complete on the capital holdings template. This was necessary before the cheque could be issued.

The reports required more detail, such as itemization of the equipment purchased, held and sold. Rockyford and Standard associations have joint agreements with those respective towns. There was a misunderstanding that the summary information from the towns was sufficient for payment.  There was a suggested template delivered to each association that would help them itemize those items. The confusion stemmed from differing reporting methods. 

“It is the first year for the new format,” Said Gerald Skibinsky, Protection Services Manager. He felt that the streamlined process and using the template would help to facilitate a faster payout delivery.

Council approved the template in 2009. Councillor Ken Sauve said they set up the templates to assist the associations in their bookkeeping activities. 

“They need to get the information to Pat Lietch (CFO) and the cheque will be cut,” said Councillor Ben Armstrong.

 

FIRE ASSOCIATIONS COORDINATE EFFORTS

Dalum Fire Chief, Albert Jensen informed council that a mutual agreement between Dalum, Cluny,  Rockyford and Rosebud Fire Associations was made to respond to fire callouts. All the halls rigs will be dispatched to structure fires in any of the respective areas. Jensen said that previous policy of waiting to assess the fire before calling for additional help was not always effective and placed too much pressure on one person to make the call. The halls have different equipment that when combined make all the difference in structure fire situations.

“If you don’t roll all at once you are beat,” said Jensen. 

Jensen said a verbal agreement was forthcoming with Hussar and was hoping to include or share the idea with other associations once the procedure was tested and documented.

 

WASHOUT COMPENSATION

An area ratepayer along road 270 requested compensation for a washout that caused damage to his land and corrals last April. 

“It did make quite a mess,” confirmed Councillor Don Vander Velde.

Crews confirmed that they did go in and fixed a washout near the property. 

“There were washouts all over the county that day. The flooding in Carseland was all the same day,” commented Public Works Manager Gerry Van Oostwaard.

Councilors felt the landowner might be able to reclaim costs from Disaster Services funding and referred the matter to Gerald Skibinskey, Protective Services Manager.

 

PUBLIC WORKS

Crews retrieved snow fence on the west side of the county and reported they were two weeks ahead of schedule. They also were doing gravel cleanup in the Carseland area and drilling test holes, so they could salvage all the gravel possible. 

“Gravel is getting more valuable all the time,” said Van Oostwaard.

The Ridgeland pit was crushing to prepare for chipping the Duck Lake Road and a new grader, truck and trailer were received in preparation for spring work. Council also approved a new mower/sidearm and tractor/loader.

 

WATER EFFLUENT STUDY

The contract for the Carseland/Speargrass  Water Effluent Study was granted to Associated Engineering, after all tenders were graded on a comparative scale.  Manager of Transportation and Infrastructure, David Churchill indicated the bid came in under budget and indicated the study will help to design a treatment plant that give good quality water going into the Bow River.

 

LIBRARY FUNDING

Libraries in need will have to present council with a working budget that justifies the funds requested.  The move was to target libraries that were having trouble keeping their doors open, but all libraries within the Wheatland county boundaries could submit a request for funds. There is no guarantee the funds will be awarded but the council will evaluate proposals and vote on funds awarded.