Pat Fule

Fule for Thought

 

I tried to watch “Coronation Street” recently. I really tried, but I felt like I was watching a video signal from another planet! Sorry, Molly…right now I’ll bet you’re saying, “bloody hell!”  

The show (believe it or not), takes place on a street, but most scenes, I guess, are in a pub. That in itself is confusing to me … I thought people in England drink tea … but no, these characters are constantly in a pub. It’s like Cheers, but instead of “Everybody knows your name”, it’s “Everybody knows your Life”!  

I even know of a pipefitter named Steve, who has to be home at the exact time the show is on! Hmmm … a pipefitter hooked on a “soap” … interesting. I guess he’s never heard of recording shows on a PVR?

In one series of episodes, a tram came off the track and crashed on Coronation Street! How horrible, it must have been frightening. You’d think people would feel safest in a hospital, shelter, or church, but no, these people stay in the pub!  

So … you can be drunk in a pub and survive a train crash on Coronation Street! Part of the charm of the show, I guess, is the way they talk. But I wonder if they even understand each other, I sure don’t. Imagine one character saying: “Cor Blimey”, and the others not having a clue what he meant!

Sometimes, people get so wrapped up in shows that they see similarities between characters and real people. I have a friend whose mother-in-law turned to the son-in-law, and said, “Bloody hell--- here comes Onslo!”  

Now I have no idea who this “Onslo” is, but I think my friend has stopped wearing sleeveless t-shirts … which is actually safer for all concerned!

Debbie is hooked on “Young and Restless” at our house … she has weeks saved on the PVR. Actually, her dad has just gotten into using his new PVR. Yep … he had 137 episodes of “Wheel of Fortune” saved, even though he doesn’t even watch the show! It took a long time to delete them all!   

Whenever, I need some “me” time, I remind Debbie that she’s got LOTS of  “Y&R” episodes on the PVR  to catch up on! Now, if I was smart like Fred Flintstone, I would slip off to “Joe Rockhead’s for a beverage!     

In “Young and Restless”, everyone’s been married to everyone else … you need a scorecard to keep track. But NEVER ask your wife what’s going on DURING the show … it’s not pretty. I got hooked on a Zombie show called “The Walking Dead.” 

It’s like a soap opera, but zombies chase the main characters to try and eat them!  Combining zombies and Young and Restless might be a cool idea. A Zombie Jack Abott may attack Victor, and rip off his face! A Zombie Billy might also have to be shot, to stop hurting Victoria! Wow, I just realized how pathetic I sound, knowing WHO these characters are.

 

“Fule for Thought” is a slice of life humourous column that will appear 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

 

She may not be a new face at the table, but she has taken on a new role. In September Lesley Hering took over the role of program coordinator for the Strathmore Regional Victim Service Society after Debbie Bodner retired. Hering had been a part time assistant coordinator with Victim Services for the past four years. 

It’s a tough job that has a high burnout rate. From the advocates to the coordinators, everyone is dealing with people at their most vulnerable time, and it can be hard not to let it get to you. 

Hering said boundaries must be created to be able to let go and direct the victim to the right agency or organization that can help them further. 

 “Nobody takes this job because they’re going to get rich or something like that, you take it because you have a passion for helping people.  This is a great format to do that because you’re working with people at their most difficult times,” said Hering. 

“The rewards are outstanding when you do see families that have moved on and…gotten beyond from whatever it was, the sexual assault or the bad domestic situation. 

“The police are required to offer Victim Services to every victim of a crime, it’s mandatory. Sometimes they say no because they don’t want it, and sometimes they’ll say no but they don’t know what they’re saying no to.”

Victim Services has been available in Strathmore for 15 years this upcoming spring. Originally it was a phone crisis support and has since evolved. The Strathmore office is located at the RCMP detachment and also serves Gleichen and Chestermere and areas in between. 

The advocates are all volunteer and are there to help, whether it’s a sexual assault file, a fatal vehicle collision, sudden death, or a house fire among many other things.

They also help with court appointments, court preparations and will even do court accompaniment. 

Hering said with Victim Services they assist the victim in helping get their story out. She said what happens with victims is they feel powerless and the advocate’s role is to help them regain that power, whatever it looks like, and give them the information and tools to get back in control. 

“A lot of what we do is critical incident debriefing, de-stressing. So it’s a crisis, their emotions are up here, their stress level is up here and what they need to do is start to process to try to make sense of it all. Often that involves telling the story, whatever it might be,” said Hering. 

Currently there are approximately 20 advocates volunteering their time. Hering would like to see those numbers increase so there will be two advocates to send out to respond to a call at a time. 

Hering said approximately six more advocates would be ideal.  They are required to be on call 72 hours a month, and go through training on being aware and safety. All applicants must be an adult with a vehicle and are required to go through an enhanced security check and a criminal reference check. 

For further information on Victim Services, and on the requirements of becoming an advocate, contact Lesley Hering at 403-934-6552.

 

Shannon LeClair

Times Reporter

 

The preliminary design for the new Wildflower reservoir is complete, and if all goes according to plan construction could begin as early as April. 

Joseph White, mechanical engineer with Associated Engineering and Chuck Renkas, project coordinator for Strathmore, were at the open house on Jan. 5 to answer resident questions. 

“The main body of the reservoir is going to be underground, and the pump station will have architectural finishes that will help it blend in with the local environment,” said Renkas.

“So it’s not going to be a concrete block sticking out of the ground, we’re hoping it will be a very attractive building.”

The design includes trees, benches, a pathway and even bike racks above the reservoir, allowing it to be an additional green space, while providing an essential service.  

Without the new reservoir, which is expected to be around the $10 million mark for the construction phase, the town does not have adequate water supply in case of an emergency, or a break in the line.  

Without the new tank future development in the town will be stalled.  

“This is to supplement and it helps us take the next step towards development as well, additional development. We’re kind of between a rock and a hard place, fire underwriters are saying that in order for you to develop more we need to increase our fire storage, so this is part of that plan,” said Renkas. 

“It takes us from 8.6 megalitres that we currently have now and it will increase it by 11.5, so it will get us to almost 20 megalitres.”

The detailed design for the reservoir will be put forth to council later this month for approval, and if approved, construction contract tenders take place in February according to Renkas. The hope is to begin construction in April or May of this year, with completion to be in December.  

 

Times Reporter

 

This past September Debbie Bodner stepped away from her role as program coordinator for the Strathmore Regional Victim Service Society. Lesley Hering, who had been Bodners assistant coordinator, is the new coordinator.  

Bodner began as an advocate in 2002, and in 2005 she took over as coordinator.  

“I loved it, it was great. It can be demanding and somewhat stressful sometimes, you have a lot of people that you are trying to please,” said Bodner.

“The coordinator is responsible for making sure that that unit is a 24/7 operation. Anything that the advocates don’t pick up, the volunteers, then it’s up to the coordinator to pick up and not only that, but you’re on call all the time. 

“If something goes on major, if it’s a normal situation that advocates can handle then they’ll handle it but if it’s something a little different…you could get a phone call at two in the morning.”

Having someone who knew the job was a goal of Bodner’s before she passed on the reins. She said coordinators before her would leave and when someone new came in they didn’t know what they were doing, and then they too would leave. There was no training period.

“That was one of my main goals was to have somebody that knew everything and that could step in if you walked out and got hit by a bus, there’s somebody there to step in and take over and you weren’t starting from scratch again,” said Bodner.

“The (RCMP) members knew them and it would just be a seamless change and I think that’s exactly what happened. Lesley will be great, no question, and Tammy (Cooper) is the assistant coordinator there and she’ll be great too. I felt like I left it in good hands.”

Though right now Bodner is taking time for herself and her family, it doesn’t mean we’ll never see her at the annual golf tournament again.

“As a volunteer certainly maybe sometime but I’m going to take some time off and I want to try and get healthy, my health was a bit of an issue. I want to take some time and make sure I get myself back on course, where I should be and just hang out with my kids and my granddaughter and my husband,” said Bodner.

“I loved it, I did and I think Victim Services is such a worthwhile organization and it has always been. People are starting to know who we are, who Victim Services is, but for so long it has been like this big secret and it’s never supposed to be.”

Bodner feels like she accomplished everything she wanted to do as the coordinator, but said in the last six months to a year as the coordinator she didn’t feel like she was doing her best. Though it bothered her, she just physically wasn’t able to do better and knew that it was time to leave. 

Since retiring from Victim Services, Bodner knows she made the right choice when she wakes up and doesn’t have to rush off anywhere. She said she is also starting to feel better health wise. 

It may have been the right choice for her, but she still misses some of the RCMP members, advocates and other people with whom she worked with on a day-to-day basis. 

“The Staff Sgt in Strathmore (Larry Marzinzik), he’s fabulous, he’s just one of the nicest men. I felt privileged to have him as my Staff Sgt and Kevin (Reilly) well, Kevin was just great, again couldn’t be more supportive. Anything that they could do for us they did, and our liaison officers in Gleichen and Chestermere as well,” said Bodner.

“I was blessed as far as my bosses and stuff went, no complaints at all. There’s a part of me that felt bad to leave but I knew it was time. Lots of good people and lots of victims that I’ll never forget.”

Bodner feels that everything you do and everything you’re a part of with the victims helps you grow as a person. She would see people who have to go through some horrific thing but they are still standing at the end, and she said you cant help but be empowered by the strength of people. 

 

Times Contributor

 

Siksika Health Centre is a leading health care provider in Alberta, thanks to an innovative program utilizing cutting edge medical technology.

In a breakthrough initiative that is expected to greatly improve healthcare delivery, four First Nations communities in Alberta have announced their moves from paper-based immunization records to a digital database on Dec. 16, in Edmonton, with three more communities expected to come online before March.

Protecting children from vaccine-preventable diseases is a priority for First Nations communities. This initiative needed someone with insight and proactive thinking in order to get it off the ground. 

Gisele Smith is currently the Community Health Nursing Team Leader at the clinic and, under the direction of senior manager Tyler White, took the reins in hand to get the program under way. 

Smith “knew that (she) was going to come back to her community at Siksika after her training as a nurse, to give something back to the community she was raised in.” After graduating Smith had the opportunities in front of her to do many things and go many places but chose to “come home” to do innovative and creative things with the First Nations peoples of Siksika.

The CHIP (Community Health and Immunization Program) is one of many new and innovative programs being offered in Siksika. CHIP is a centralized, easy-to-track system for recording vaccinations electronically. It aims to become the first program in Alberta to seamlessly communicate with the provincial health registry, creating a complete record of a First Nation patient’s immunizations that is viewable in any clinic that also uses CHIP. 

“In Alberta, First Nations are the only communities that still have paper-based records,” notes Dr. Salim Samanani, Medical Director for OKAKI in Canada. “The provincial immunization registry maintained by Alberta Health & Wellness has no information on the vaccinations delivered on First Nations, so there is no way for health service providers or public health authorities to get a complete picture of the immunizations received (or not received) by First Nations residents. This has led to communities with higher rates of vaccine-preventable illnesses than in the rest of the province.”

The system was developed by OKAKI Health Intelligence as a service for First Nations communities, with start-up funding and technical support contributed by Cybera which is a not-for-profit organization that works to spur and support innovation, for the economic benefit of Alberta, through the use of cyberinfrastructure. Cybera collaborates with public and private partners to accelerate research and product development in priority areas such as health, energy, environment, and emerging technologies. Cybera operates CyberaNet, a high-speed high-bandwidth advanced network in Alberta, and provides project management services to WestGrid / Compute Canada, a consortium that provides advanced computing in support of research across Canada.

 The Siksika Health Centre has partnered with many in the private sectors (such as sharing doctors from Strathmore and the needed resources available to them to not only launch the program but to be able to keep it up and running. With Siksika reaching out and partnering with groups from international healthcare companies like Pfizer, more than 30,000 immunization records of children and adults have been digitally recorded across the Stoney, Siksika, Kehewin and Frog Lake First Nations. The group has plans to expand to many more communities within the next year.

Non-Nation health care systems have been using this technology for many years as they are governed by Alberta Health Services. The First Nations group had to partner with AB Health to make sure that their program was compatible with such programs as Medi-Patient in the Strathmore areas zone. 

The results of this CHIP initiative will be providing safer and more effective vaccination programs for First Nations children. It will improve the communication and sharing of critical information between health service providers on and off reserve and it will build stronger partnerships between First Nations and the provincial health system and government.

The Chief Executive Officer of Siksika Health Services Tyler White says that “the Siksika Nation will continue to strive to be innovative with meeting the highest standards of excellence in First Nations health and continue with formalizing partnerships with the provincial, federal, international and First Nations partners.” 

This process has been a “win-win situation for Siksika as it has opened up stronger relations with non-nations peoples.”

 

Fule for Thought

 

Many new fathers are anxious about a new baby. Changing, holding, feeding, are all new to us as dads. Sometimes we even go to odd lengths to win the affections of our new kids!  

I was one of those dads, and for awhile felt a bit awkward around our first-born son. He was devoted to Deb, but I kind of felt he saw me as “some guy” who was just around the house (come to think of it, that’s still how he sees me)! In fact, when he was at the crawling stage, we actually had a competition.

The “match” was in June … the location, our kitchen floor … the stakes … bragging rights as to which of us “the boy” liked better.  

The proof … would be in seeing which one he crawled to when called. Debbie didn’t have a chance, because I had a secret weapon. Oh, this was not just a little trinket … in all its colourful, plastic glory, it was: Mickey Mouse on a trapeze with a suction cup at the bottom. It was originally used on a stroller, kind of like a hood ornament for babies.  However, it was to be my device to win.

Deb and I sat on the kitchen floor away from each other. We started to call Brennen (I know, he’s not a dog, but we had to settle this)!  

As we called, I raised the secret weapon, wet the suction cup bottom, and … stuck it to my forehead. It was glorious … Brennen crawled as fast as his chubby legs could go … to ME!  

Then savouring the victory, I got Brennen to bat at Mickey on his trapeze. It was awesome, he had come to me, and was now making Mickey spin on his trapeze, batting him as it stuck to my forehead. Victory was mine … but then I noticed the toy was starting to pull at my forehead … it began to hurt, to throb! Brennen kept playing away, and the suction cup seemed to be pulling out my skin, sucking out my brain!

I panicked, and called to Deb for help, only to watch her run off laughing, to get the camera. She got back in time to see me pull the toy off my forehead with a mighty “SMACK”! I felt instant relief and of course, Debbie snapped pictures. I asked what was so funny, and she replied, “go look in the mirror!”  

In the mirror I saw, to my horror, a perfectly round, perfectly purple “hickey”! It seemed to pulsate, as if it had a mind of its own. The pain had gone, but I suddenly realized I had to supervise high school finals the next morning in our gym! Once Debbie stopped laughing, she recommended “foundation!”  

I smeared it onto my forehead until it looked semi “normal”, and hoped it would pass. Debbie wasn’t done with me yet. She took me for a drive, we met her principal! I slunk in the passenger seat with my hat pulled down, silently pleading for her not to stop again.

The next day, I was able to cover it, get through the day, so I could drive home. As I drove down the street, various Brentwood kids did some strange salute to me as I passed them.  

With one fist to their foreheads, they mimicked my ripping off the suction cup. Debbie had told them! For a few years, I would get this odd salute, and we tried the same toy stuck to our car hood. It stayed on perfectly, no matter our speed. It really was a powerful weapon!  

It had bought me a victory, but the victory had a cost … my dignity. I have since heard of other fathers and other suction cups. We’re planning a support group and annual meetings.

“Fule for Thought” is a slice of life humourous column that will appear 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 .

 

Times Reporter

 

Seeing growth and new development is essential to any community, and according to the year-end economic development report for 2011 Strathmore accomplished a lot. 

“The town had a good year, we achieved a lot through work and cooperation with management, staff and council and with consultants helping us on certain items we were able to achieve lots,” said Chief Administrative Officer for the Town, Dwight Stanford. 

“Future development is phenomenal, if you look at all of those Area Structure Plans coming forward each subdivision, depending, may have over 3,000 people in each of them. It will take years to fill them all but we’re looking at a lot of growth in the next 30 years.”  

This past year was a good year for Strathmore, which saw 208 building permits issued, 32 of which were for single-family dwellings. The total construction value of the permits was $20,728,171. By the end of 2011 there had been 744 business licenses issued. 

 

Affordable housing projects

The town’s affordable housing market project, Bayside Villas, is well underway. There is one more eight-plex scheduled to be built in 2012, and 16 units are currently under construction. Many of the homes waiting completion have already been purchased. Of the 24 units already completed, 21 of them are occupied. 

The affordable rental units are also doing well with 42 of the 56 units complete. 

 

Phase 2 construction for Sagewood

Last month MLA Arno Doerkson made an announcement that Sagewood Seniors Community had been granted $7.6 million to begin work on phase 2 of the project. The second phase will include 70 assisted living beds and 30 long-term care beds. 

This phase will include a day care with a grand friends program, which is an interactive, or inter-generational, program, which brings kids and older adults together in supervised activities. 

 

Current and upcoming Area Structure Plans 

There were three major Area Structure Plans (ASP) approved, which include Wildflower, Westcreek and recently the Prairies. There are two additional ASPs being reviewed, one of the which, the Edgefield ASP, will see 325 acres converted into a mix of low and medium density residential and commercial uses. 

The ASP will be a continuation of the Ranch Market-style development east across George Freeman Trail to the boundary.  The second ASP is for Lakeview Meadows located on the old town reservoir site. The concept the developer is presenting is to reshape the existing reservoir and plan for predominately large lot residential single-family dwellings. The plan is to also keep 40 acres of the reservoir as a public utility lot for storm water.

 

Parks, pathways and playgrounds 

There have been numerous pathways which have been paved and beautified. There have also been a number of esthetic improvements made to roadways within the town, including the removal of old fences along major roadways. 

New playground equipment has been purchased and installed in parks around town and old playground equipment was replaced in a few existing parks. 

Strathmore Lakes Estates residents have improved their area esthetically and installed two new playgrounds at their own cost.

The town bought 10-acres of land east of Kinsmen Park, which will continue to be used for recreational purposes. 

The tree-planting program continued strong this year, and there were additional trees planted along Centennial Drive, formerly East Lake Road, which had not originally been in this year’s program.

 

Industrial lands 

Promoting the industrial land south of the highway remains a forefront issue on council’s mind. There are currently several service businesses interested in the land. There were 583 acres of land south of the highway which were re-designated for light, medium and heavy industrial uses. Additional lands are available for commercial and industrial development through private developers. A majority of the lands are already subdivided, serviced and ready for development.  

 

Emergency equipment 

Late in 2011 a HAZMAT Response Trailer was purchased for a very reasonable cost. There were also upgrades made to the Strathmore Fire Department (SFD) rescue and recovery boat. The side sonar and noise cancelling headphones were bought thanks to generous donation from a local developer. The new equipment will give the SFD a bit of an upper hand while searching for someone in the water, and will hopefully allow for more rescues than recoveries. 

 

Centennial  

A number of centennial projects and events took place to commemorate Strathmore being 100 years young. Councillor Bob Sobol stated at the Jan. 4 council meeting that thanks to the support of the community, both financially and through volunteers, there was a surplus of $12,997.99 from all of the events. 

 

Ridge road 

Ridge Road was in rough shape early last year and construction began just after Heritage Days. Everything was complete on time. The new work included widening the road and adding sidewalks to the north side, in front of the businesses. 

 

Bio solids contracts 

Strathmore will be saving money this year after completing the prep work and approvals for hauling bio-solids to International Compost Ltd. located north of town. A Memorandum of Understanding with Earth Renew was signed for the long-term disposal of organics. 

 

Wildflower reservoir 

The engineering and design assessment on the new Wildflower water Reservoir was awarded to Associated Engineering in September and is already 50 per cent complete. The construction of the project is expected to cost approximately $10 million, and on Jan. 5 an open house was held to hear residents concerns.   

 

Other projects around town 

Last year the Town had a brochure made up to promote Strathmore. Of the 5,000 copies, there are only 300 left and there are plans to soon begin drafting a new brochure. 

Though the roads haven’t really needed it this winter, when the snow does come Strathmore will be better prepared. Last year a five-ton truck with a plow and sandbox was purchased.

The electronic community events sign located on the south and west side of town will be upgraded by the end of January. There will be new software used, and it should be running by the end of the month. 

Council and administration are currently negotiating the installation of a major sewer line with developers and landowners on the north and east sides of town. 

The BNR Waste Water Treatment Plant has been completed. 

Council and administration have been very involved in discussions on various options for the highway bypass. 

Phase 2,3 and 4 of the Aquatic Centre was completed early in 2011. The centre now has a leisure pool, hot tub, water slide, and multi-purpose rooms.  

A majority of the costs incurred by the Town of Strathmore, WADEMSA and Wheatland County during last January’s severe storm have been recovered. 

The garbage contract has been renegotiated and signed for another three-year term. 

There was a renegotiation of a major contract with EPCOR. 

The tertiary effluent line to the Bow River has been extended. 

Assistance was offered for the Slave Lake disaster and there have been numerous other small contracts and projects completed in 2011.

 

Times Contributor

 

After Florence (Jeffer) and Alvin Mullen were married on June 13, 1942, they lived the first four years of their life together at the Mullen Farm, before moving to the Jeffer Farm until 1953. 

Then they purchased the David McBean farm, just south of Cluny, where they farmed for the next 38.5 years. Both the Mullen family and Jeffer family originated from County Armagh, Northern Ireland. But, strangely enough, neither knew each other before they immigrated to Canada. 

Irish immigrants are known for raising workhorses, and this line of work continued after they arrived in Alberta. 

Alvin was born in Bassano in 1921, whilst Florence was born in Gleichen Hospital in 1924. She met Alvin while attending the High School Dormitory in Calgary, through his two sisters, who had befriended her. Alvin and Florence’ farm included growing grain, horses and purebred Herefords. 

Much reference has been given to me in previous interviews, about students attending Normal School. This was a school where students entered a teaching career, and Florence had wanted to be a teacher since she was about five years old! At the beginning of WW2, all the male teachers were called upon to serve in the Canadian Armed Forces, and student teachers were used to fill their places. 

Florence was now 18 years old, and as a student at Normal School not yet finished her studies, she suddenly found herself transferred to Peavine School near Sangudo, Alberta in 1942. 

Here she started her teaching career, far from family and friends. The Provincial Government paid her $1 per teaching day, to the end of that school year. In the fall, she started teaching at Makepeace School in the Cluny Area. 

The marriage of Alvin and Florence produced two sons, Lorne (Elaine) and Bruce (Verna), who have given them five grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren. Alvin passed away in 2002, after 60 years of marriage.

Because Alvin and Florence had no daughters, and Lorne and Bruce had thoroughbred horses, Florence became a barrel racer. She still has her saddle mounted in her basement room, beside a number of winning trophies. In the early years of their marriage, Alvin and Florence were part of The Makepeace Orchestra, who played to audiences within a 60-mile radius of Makepeace. Florence played the piano, Alvin - banjo, Alvin Sandquist - saxophone, and Ed Schaffer - drums. They were always in great demand.

Florence was an avid curler, and participated in The Alberta Seniors Winter Games for four years. She and Alvin served on the Gleichen United Church Board for 25 years.  

Florence was a member of UCW in both Gleichen and Strathmore, and they both square danced with Strathmore’s Wheatland Whirlers Square Dance club in the late 1980’s.

As previously indicated, they spent most of their married lives on their farm at Gleichen. In the early days, Gleichen was known as Siding #14, after CPR track laying teams reached there in mid-July 1883. It was a thriving community of over 2,600 because of the railway. However, when the Trans Canada Highway arrived in mid-July 1963, the population dropped quite drastically. 

In 1990 Alvin and Florence retired to Strathmore, which has really grown since they arrived.